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[2005-03-18 15:00:40] - aba: Sounds like my kind of movie! -Paul
[2005-03-18 14:43:48] - from rotten tomatoes: CONSENSUS - Ring Two serves up horror cliches, and not even Hideo Nakata, the director of the movies from which this one is based, can save the movie from a dull screenplay full of absurdities. - aba
[2005-03-18 09:52:28] - vinnie: Hmm, alright. Cool. - aaron
[2005-03-18 09:24:08] - aaron: Butter 08 was the band the members of Cibo Matto were in, along with some other people - vinnie
[2005-03-18 07:37:43] - pierce: The x degrees of They Might Be Giants always goes through some band called "butter 08" that i've never heard of - aaron
[2005-03-17 21:52:25] - or soad
~a[2005-03-17 21:50:46] - but cake isn't? ~a
[2005-03-17 18:01:24] - http://bandtoband.com/ six degrees of kevin bacon, but for bands. Surprisingly, Anal Cunt is listed. - pierce
[2005-03-17 16:41:53] - katie: I like the idea with the animation when you first enter the site (with the origami instructions for a goat). nice design -mel
[2005-03-17 16:41:03] - katie: wow. cool portfolio. -mel
[2005-03-17 16:32:31] - katie: http://www.feralgoat.com/oekaki_beta/
~a[2005-03-17 16:17:48] - i moved to washington which makes things more boring. ~a
[2005-03-17 16:17:13] - Thanks comrade. I moved to Chicago which makes things less boring. -Katie
[2005-03-17 16:15:18] - acting like a grownup is boring. ~a
[2005-03-17 16:14:45] - it's still an impressive outdated portfolio. ~a
[2005-03-17 16:14:33] - Now I use people names because I have to act like a grownup
p[][[[];/ - Katie[2005-03-17 16:13:34] - I was also wolf from the internet. feralgoat.com was my old web site, now just an outdated portfolio. - katie
[2005-03-17 16:11:43] - catharsis that is. ~a
[2005-03-17 16:11:11] - like the catharisis kind. ~a
[2005-03-17 16:10:31] - wolf: i thought you were wolf. ~a
[2005-03-17 16:10:10] - Katie Scully from the internet. - Katie
[2005-03-17 16:09:48] - katie: your font color is cool. -mel
[2005-03-17 16:09:28] - hello. katie who? -mel
[2005-03-17 16:09:20] - the versions of photoshop i've used did not let me get back to state A without saving A or taking a snapshot of A. ~a
[2005-03-17 16:08:43] - pierce: photoshop has an undo tree? i.e. i start at state A. i click UNDO (taking me to state B). I make a NEW CHANGE (taking me to state C). how do i get back to state A? ~a
[2005-03-17 16:07:30] - katie: which katie are you? ~a
[2005-03-17 16:04:44] - I have not posted here in years. Hello. - Katie
[2005-03-17 16:03:46] - a: haha. yes. -mel
[2005-03-17 13:22:59] - a: yes - vinnie
[2005-03-17 11:48:45] - I use Visual Slick Edit. It also has a "find references in workspace"type function that I use constantly. If you are working with a significant number of files, this function is a godsend. -mel
[2005-03-17 11:47:24] - yeah . . . so i HATE vim, but i hate non-vim more. i hate linux, but i hate non-linux more. i hate contacts, but i hate glasses more. am i too full of hate? ~a
[2005-03-17 11:45:49] - which happens like once a day. ~a
[2005-03-17 11:45:24] - another is accidentally hitting :Q instead of :q . . . if the ":" got stuck in insert mode, then the "Q" command (which is called EX mode) which is really annoying to get out of. ~a
[2005-03-17 11:43:06] - it happens like twice a day. ~a
[2005-03-17 11:43:00] - aaron: there are other annoying mode-problems: i want to FREAKING QUIT. i will type ":" in insert mode, then realize i'm in insert mode, so i'll hit escape, then i'll type "q" and nothing will happen (because q is a command) so i'll hit ":" again (now in the correct mode). BUT WAIT "q:" is a command . . . i get sent into history-mode. ~a
[2005-03-17 11:23:38] - a: I always habitually hit escape 3 times (it's 3 times, right?) before any commands to ensure that i'm in text operations. So "Go to end of file" becomes esc-esc-esc-shift-g, and "type melon" becomes esc-esc-esc-imelon. I always hoped that kind of habit would go away if I used vim enough - aaron
[2005-03-17 10:28:17] - http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg200503160743.asp Kill the cats? -Paul
[2005-03-17 09:58:01] - i want there to be a hotkey for doing text operations. ~a
[2005-03-17 09:57:06] - aaron: although i use vim 24/7 i still think even vim doesn't get it right. having two modes (insert mode for typing and normal mode for doing text operations) is very very disorienting even after TONS of practice (i've been using vi/vim for seven years) ~a
[2005-03-17 09:41:05] - pierce: I guess eclipse already handles some of the really powerful VI stuff like regexp search+replace but I still feel like it would be cool to use things like vim-style copy paste in eclipse. I'd have to try it out, I'm still a total vim novice - aaron
[2005-03-17 09:39:33] - pierce: I don't know, you know me i'm not one of these "tools are for fools" types of programmers but I find a lot of the auto-completion in eclipse really gets in the way, especially for parentheses and quotes in java. And sometimes it outright deletes what you just typed when you keep typing, which is really irritating - aaron
[2005-03-16 19:53:31] - aaron: but if it did JSP code completion? aaaaahhhhhhh <drool> - pierce
[2005-03-16 19:53:09] - aaron: I think it'd have to hook into a lot of eclipse's code assist functionality to be useful... I can't tell you how often I use the "find references in workspace" for a variable, or control-click to go right to a method. - pierce
[2005-03-16 18:53:54] - a: Hehe. #6 = make it possible to use Vim as a plugin in Eclipse. Go eclipse! - aaron
[2005-03-16 17:54:48] - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4355871.stm ARGHHHH - aba
[2005-03-16 17:51:54] - a: how is what they describe a tree? isn't it just a list of undoable actions with a better interface for going back and forth within it? The photoshop guys have had that for quite a while. - pierce
[2005-03-16 17:45:08] - wow. the future capability list for vim is really cool. they'll have intellisense - context sensitive completion (yes i KNOW every other ide in the world already has intellisense) and finally someone else has thought of my idea of an UNDO TREE!!!
http://www.vim.org/sponsor/vote_results.php ~a[2005-03-16 17:37:50] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/16/obesity.longevity.ap/index.html researchers reveal unexpected solution to social security crisis - aaron
[2005-03-16 10:09:50] - mig: man java: "java - Java interpreter" ~a
[2005-03-16 10:08:09] - mig: yes. ~a
[2005-03-16 09:53:48] - a: when you say, interperter, you mean the interperter that reads the bytecode, right? - mig
[2005-03-16 08:45:41] - (is not, not cannot) ~a
[2005-03-16 08:45:31] - and the java compiler is not written in java. ~a
[2005-03-16 08:45:22] - i take that back. the java interpreter cannot be written in java. ~a
[2005-03-16 08:44:46] - mig: the java compiler cannot be written in java. ~a
[2005-03-16 08:44:17] - lori: you were just l. ~a
[2005-03-16 08:42:36] - gcc and g++ are written in c, so i wouldn't be surprised if the java compiler itself is actually written in java. - mig
[2005-03-16 08:42:22] - aaron: sadly that is not the definition of a compiler. ~a
[2005-03-16 08:38:23] - pierce: Great comic. Is that really the definition of a compiler? I don't think the java compiler is written in java for instance. Maybe it is. - aaron
[2005-03-16 08:06:11] - a: lori is sorry, she forgot what she signed with before - lori
[2005-03-15 22:29:05] - hahahaha http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~tom7/csnotes/spring03/compiler-time.gif - pierce
[2005-03-15 14:25:21] - lori needs to stop changing her sig or she's never going to make it to the stat page. ~a
[2005-03-15 12:54:35] - Internet = the death of editors and copyproofers - vinnie
[2005-03-15 12:37:35] - lol - lori
[2005-03-15 12:36:57] - Aaron: Probably has something to do with the fact that she did it in public. -Paul
[2005-03-15 12:15:53] - paul: It's a real mystery why she doesn't have more male fans then - aaron
[2005-03-15 12:06:56] - Aaron: At the same time. -Paul
[2005-03-15 12:02:29] - paul: In a row?!?! - aaron
[2005-03-15 11:11:32] - I found the fifth paragraph of that article to be particularly amusing. -Paul
[2005-03-15 11:11:12] - http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050314/lf_afp/afplifestyleiranautowomen#1 Woman racer upsets testosterone-driven Iran -Paul
[2005-03-15 11:06:56] - http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-03-15T092804Z_01_DOB475801_RTRUKOC_0_FINANCIAL-BRITAIN-LONGEVITY.xml People die later than they expect -Paul
[2005-03-14 17:49:22] - Mig: I'm not even sure I know what their premise is.
-Paul[2005-03-14 17:34:06] - paul: yeah, while certainly i would tend to agree with their premise, i don't know exactly how you quantify "being hard on someone." - mig
[2005-03-14 16:07:21] - Otherwise Fox could just give reports about US victories all day long and CBS could just give reports about casualties all day long and both would be equally unbiased in terms of this study it seems. -Paul
[2005-03-14 16:06:37] - For instance, is showing a completely fact-based report on casualties suffered considered negative exposure? How about a completely fact based report on some victory that US forces had? -Paul
[2005-03-14 16:05:49] - I would be quite interested in seeing how teh study came up with these numbers, especially for the Iraq War. -Paul
[2005-03-14 16:04:36] - http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/14/study_shows_us_election_coverage_harder_on_bush_1110813118/ Study Shows U.S. Election Coverage Harder on Bush -Paul
[2005-03-14 10:53:20] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/14/smith.transcript/index.html interview with the ex-hostage from the atlanta georgia manhunt - aaron
[2005-03-14 00:46:27] - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8123-1516578,00.html eu banning just about every vitamin and suppliment under the sun. - mig
[2005-03-13 23:38:08] - http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/10/2043202&tid=221&tid=198&tid=4 article on slashdot semi-about my company. Not the best reaction, I'm sorry to say. - pierce
[2005-03-11 16:49:24] - Mig; I can't tonight, sorry. -Paul
[2005-03-11 16:48:18] - Aaron: Me too. The movies seem to make a lot more sense when you read the summaries on wikipedia. -Paul
[2005-03-11 16:06:37] - Can't tonight, but I'm up for stuff tomorrow. - pierce
[2005-03-11 15:10:51] - http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4110 Bush announces Iraq exit strategy - aaron
[2005-03-11 14:52:51] - i wanna swallow a 16 inch stick and live - aaron
[2005-03-11 13:43:46] - mig: tonight i want to call people and scream. ~a
[2005-03-11 12:55:25] - anyone wanna do something tonight? - mig
[2005-03-11 12:45:20] - "The Matrix reused some of the film sets from Dark City, a movie filmed shortly beforehand that was similar in plot and style." ~a
[2005-03-11 12:24:52] - i also like how they used a REAL 1999 software exploit (the time the matrix reloaded takes place). ~a
[2005-03-11 11:06:46] - paul: "The scene in which Neo fights Seraph is a simultaneous reference to the spirituality of martial arts and to challenge-response authentication." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge-response_authentication )
~a[2005-03-11 09:44:42] - paul: Reading the wikipedia summaries of the matrix trilogy gave me a little more respect for the trilogy as a whole. I didn't realize there were decent interpretations/explanations of certain parts of the trilogy. It also helps that they omit a lot of really bad scenes in the plot summaries - aaron
[2005-03-10 17:34:26] - http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005111646,00.html 18 inch dog swallows 16 inch stick and lives. -Paul
[2005-03-10 16:51:39] - I just thought that quote was pretty funny, especially in something like wikipedia, which is usually fairly dry. -Paul
[2005-03-10 16:51:16] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix_Revolutions "Unfortunately, gravity prevails, and they are not able to restart the ship before it crashes into one of 01's black spires. The impact drives metal rods through Trinity's body; she gives Neo a three-minute-fifty-second pep talk and then dies" -Paul
[2005-03-10 15:58:56] - well, what about the kid from the wonder years? frankie muntz? - mig
[2005-03-10 15:51:06] - a technical analysis of p2p and spyware: http://www.benedelman.org/spyware/p2p/ ~a
[2005-03-10 13:56:46] - a: I think you're right that they were just on air less. Michelle was a fairly major character in the show while I think those two were much more minor. -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:51:04] - well the child labor laws must have been relaxed because here are two brothers that played two characters in the same show: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_%26_Alex_Katsopolis . . . or maybe they were just on air much less. ~a
[2005-03-10 13:37:58] - Aaron: Right, and I don't want to get into a debate about what kind of rights kids should have. I just thought it was somewhat interesting that child actors seem to have less stringent laws for them. -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:35:54] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olsen "both sisters played one character, Michelle Tanner, taking turns during the recordings to do so, in order to comply with child labor laws regarding child actors" so it sounds like there is a seperate law for child actors? -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:34:50] - paul: Yes i read that in the article. It's a complicated issue for those of us who think giving kids full financial independence at such a young age might encourage them to make poor decisions - aaron
[2005-03-10 13:29:45] - a: Well, it is one of those things which minorly freak me out every time I think about it. Kinda like a papercut on my eye or something like that. -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:27:06] - Aaron: I guess, but it seems like most kids who want to work would have a decent reason for wanting to do so. Who's to say that one kid's dream of becoming a pro baseball player is more important than another kid's dream to, I dunno, buy a bike and possibly become the next Lance Armstrong? -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:18:03] - paul: It might also come back to the batboy thing, where being a child star is such a "dream job" that they don't want to destroy kid's dreams - aaron
[2005-03-10 13:15:32] - i can see you doing that. ~a
[2005-03-10 13:05:29] - Granted, had I accomplished that it would've likely killed me in a very painful manner... -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:05:07] - I literally would've had to have opened it up, jumped inside, and then somehow closed it behind me. -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:04:39] - But it was the silliest thing, because I had a driver's license and was trusted to drive a car around at high speeds but not to operate a trash compactor which I would have to work incredibly hard at to hurt myself with. -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:03:40] - Aaron: Yeah, I dunno about the sawmill. Although I do know things can sound a lot worse than they are. I remember I wasn't allowed to use the trash compactor at Giant when I first worked there because I was too young. -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:02:28] - Now, whenever I see somebody listing all the reasons why it's important to have child labor laws where nobody is allowed it work under a certain age, then I'll just wonder why it was crucial that kids be allowed to work in an industry whose sole purpose is entertainment. -Paul
[2005-03-10 13:01:33] - paul: I'm really confused about the sawmill one though. That seems like one of the last places a kid should be working - aaron
[2005-03-10 13:01:07] - Aaron: You're probably right. I guess I didn't mean "protecting the children" so much as the whole mindset that a blanket law is the solution. -Paul
[2005-03-10 12:57:21] - paul: Well you're right that it diminishes the importance of the law in both cases. I still think the show business exception is more acceptable because it's a very safe occupation, and because they're so heavily monitored (more so than when they are at home, most likely) - aaron
[2005-03-10 12:49:45] - It just seems to greatly dimish the importance of the ban in order to "protect" people if we're making exceptions for something so seemingly non-important. -Paul
[2005-03-10 12:49:09] - It would be like if we banned smoking because it's so harmful but made an exception that actors can still do it so we can have realistic movies and TV shows (where people smoke). -Paul
[2005-03-10 12:46:17] - Aaron: I guess, I was just thinking that if protecting the children was so important that we need to make a blanket law banning anybody under a certain age from working, then the fact that the Olsen twins were allowed to work seems to reduce the importance of it a lot. -Paul
[2005-03-10 12:33:01] - I think what you may have meant was, "that would blow away arguments that our children's protection is more important than realistic looking movies and TV shows?" - aaron
[2005-03-10 12:30:07] - I think it's irrefutable that show business is lower risk than, say, a saw mill or a construction yard or a fast food restaurant anyway - aaron
[2005-03-10 12:28:02] - paul: Well that's not fair, child labor laws are still "protecting" the %99 of children not employed in show business. Just because adults make selfish exceptions for specific occupations doesn't mean the laws aren't intended to protect children. It could just mean that adults have deemed show business as relatively low-risk - aaron
[2005-03-10 11:52:59] - I mean, if we're allowing babies and toddlers to work just so we can have more realistic looking movies and TV shows, I think that would kinda blow away any arguments that child labor laws are around to protect children. -Paul
[2005-03-10 11:51:42] - Aaron: I guess, but doesn't that seem to somewhat demolish the whole "doing it for the children" thing? -Paul
[2005-03-10 11:46:39] - paul: i guess they make exceptions for acting, because without child actors you couldn't have children in movies - aaron
[2005-03-10 10:43:05] - I had never thought of it before, but should all child modeling and child acting be illegal under child labor laws? -Paul
[2005-03-10 10:42:43] - I thought the interesting part of that article was how the Amish are exempt and the example of the Olsen twins. -Paul
[2005-03-10 10:41:44] - http://www.sacunion.com/pages/columns/articles/2923/ What's wrong with child labor? -Paul
[2005-03-10 10:17:23] - http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=618472 Young women yearn for 1950s role as stay-at-home mums (can you tell it's British?) -Paul
[2005-03-10 09:54:05] - mig: I guess you're right. -Paul
[2005-03-10 00:36:42] - paul: well what made the lynch story fall apart was that lynch herself didn't bak it up. with hussein, however, it's not like anyone has access to him at the moment. - mig
[2005-03-09 18:20:47] - http://www.ynetnews.com/articles//0,7340,L-3052074,00.html (Israeli) Army frowns on Dungeons and Dragons -Paul
[2005-03-09 18:18:43] - http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=17706&name='I'm+being+kidnapped,+and+love+it' Oh, those crazy Dutch. -Paul
[2005-03-09 17:44:02] - I mean, if we could find out the truth about somebody as relatively unimportant as Jessica Lynch, then I just assumed any kind of similar propaganda about Saddam's capture would've been found out as well. -Paul
[2005-03-09 17:42:59] - I wonder if there could've been a more degrading story that the government could've released which was also still reasonable. I'm guessing not. I always thought the story was strange, but I figured there were people out there more paranoid than I who would raise a stink if the story was false. -Paul
[2005-03-09 17:01:17] - aaron: im sure they also like the fact that they told the public that he was betrayed by his own family member! see how far the mighty have fallen and all that jazz. - aba
[2005-03-09 16:48:01] - of course we have no idea if abou is telling the truth. ~a
[2005-03-09 16:47:24] - aaron: maybe they wanted to make it seem like sadam was cowering. ~a
[2005-03-09 16:31:56] - http://www.wnbc.com/news/4263089/detail.html girl scout ticketed for selling cookies without a permit. - mig
[2005-03-09 16:30:30] - mig: I don't understand why, it sounds cooler this way. A gunfight and everything! - aaron
[2005-03-09 16:29:04] - http://www.wokr13.tv/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=422B960A-26BA-4891-9E60-21C8818788D4 surprise, surprise, the usgov account of the capture of sadaam hussein was not accurate. - mig
[2005-03-09 16:19:17] - Paul: yeah, the 10.5 vs 10.7 or 10.8 difference was in the signing bonus -dave
[2005-03-09 16:09:49] - If I were as beloved as Smoot was around here and was getting paid millions of dollars anyway, I would gladly take a couple million less if it let me play for a team I enjoy playing for in front of a crowd that supports me. -Paul
[2005-03-09 16:08:28] - Dave: But I agree, I always thought it was strange how players seem to put money as the one and only priority when it comes to signing with teams. Very rarely do you see a player that takes a worse offer to stick with a team he enjoys playing for or for someplace where he has a bunch of fans. -Paul
[2005-03-09 16:06:32] - Dave: I think what I heard is that the Vikings offered a slightly larger signing bonus (which is guaranteed money, I think) and that the Vikings offered more money earlier in the contract (which he is more likely to collect). -Paul
[2005-03-09 15:38:37] - it never ceases to amaze me how little loyalty there appears to be in pro-sports. From what I can tell, the only difference between Washington's and the Viking's offer to Smoot was an extra $300k. Granted, that's a lot, but it was out out of ~$10.5 mil. -dave
[2005-03-09 15:33:07] - Paul: yeah, that's what I figured too. But it's still bizarre to come upon it, I suppose because we don't usually get too much exposure to it -dave
[2005-03-09 15:30:54] - Dave: That's a pretty common tactic I think. Tack on a pork spending amendment to a bill which feeds the homeless and then nobody can vote against it because then they appear to be against feeding the homeless. -Paul
[2005-03-09 15:24:42] - what a bizarre side-reference -dave
[2005-03-09 15:24:16] - "Senators voted 53 to 46 against an amendment offered by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) that had helped sink the legislation in prior years. The measure would have made it harder for people who break the law while protesting abortion to use bankruptcy to avoid paying court-ordered fines. " -dave
[2005-03-09 15:24:02] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17567-2005Mar8.html ahh, here's why it referenced abortion -dave
[2005-03-09 15:00:34] - I would like to thank Aaron, and the academy, and my agent, and Al Gore, for making the Internet possible. -Paul
[2005-03-09 14:56:20] - Paul; you win the accolades of your peers ^_^ -dave
[2005-03-09 14:50:24] - logan has two of those posts? grr - vinnie
[2005-03-09 14:45:15] - paul: hey i helped you win! I better get honorable mentions in your acceptance speech - aaron
[2005-03-09 14:43:36] - a: So what do I win? -Paul
[2005-03-09 14:28:16] - paul finally makes it on the list: http://aporter.org/msg/fivedigits.txt ~a
[2005-03-09 13:59:18] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19935-2005Mar9.html IRA offers to kill four men connected with murder -dave
[2005-03-09 13:59:16] - a: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage Under "Debate" -Paul
[2005-03-09 13:58:02] - a: You're right, there are a lot of factors that come into play and many that we probably don't understand. However, I thought it was pretty commonly accepted that raising the minimum wage DOES result in job losses (or at least a decrease in job creation). -Paul
[2005-03-09 13:57:21] - http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200%257E25388%257E2751937,00.html sign that Lakers might want Phil back - manager invited him to a Lakers game (this buried inside the article) -dave
[2005-03-09 13:47:14] - a: isn't the problem that we don't know enough to make such a simulation because of all the factors involved? -dave
[2005-03-09 13:46:08] - "New Republican polling data shows "there is a rejection of the term 'crisis' as an accurate description of the state of the Social Security system, and this rejection increases in intensity as the respondents get older," according to a copy of a memo obtained by The Associated Press. " haha ^_^ -dave
[2005-03-09 13:44:32] - dave: exactly. there are lots of things we don't understand and we can't argue logically. somebody should write a simulation that we can test with different factors (like increasing minimum wage or decreasing sales tax etc etc). ~a
[2005-03-09 13:38:00] - a: at the same time, if more people are buying food, then they need more cashiers, stockers, and other personnel to keep up with the volume -dave
[2005-03-09 13:35:28] - paul: on the other hand, there are lots of factors we don't understand. if the economy is doing well, then more people will buy giant food and gaint can afford to pay its employees higher wages without having to raise prices. ~a
[2005-03-09 13:29:08] - a: Ok, I wasn't sure if you had changed your mind or not. -Paul
[2005-03-09 13:25:46] - paul: yep. i agree. hence "although i'll admit that all of them are affected (indirectly and directly)" ~a
[2005-03-09 13:08:19] - a: A lot of the people at Giant were paid near minimum wage (I think) and they were always having trouble finding good workers so an increase in the minimum wage would likely cause them to have to raise their wages in order to be able to keep finding new employees. -Paul
[2005-03-09 13:06:35] - a: I would think a raise in the minimum wage would affect other industries besides the ones which hire people at minimum wage. -Paul
[2005-03-09 12:41:49] - errr, or that it wouldn't work -dave
[2005-03-09 12:41:37] - aaron: not that I'm saying places wouldn't raise prices, or that it might work, just saying that it's also feasible that they wouldn't consider raising prices an option -dave
[2005-03-09 12:38:25] - aaron: In an extreme sense, some businesses could feasibly go out of business if the min. wage was raised enough (not that the proposed increase was necessarily this much) -dave
[2005-03-09 12:36:38] - aaron: I know I've read reports in several other industries that companies didn't / couldn't raise their retail prices even though their costs for materials / labor was rising -dave
[2005-03-09 12:35:50] - aaron: I think you overestimate the willingness of fast food chains to raise prices. Raising prices causes a lot of dynamics for them, loss of customer base etc. Even if all food chains raised the prices by the same amount (which is a big if), they would still probably lose some business to people who didn't want to buy for more -dave
[2005-03-09 12:34:04] - although i'll admit that all of them are affected (indirectly and directly). ~a
[2005-03-09 12:33:09] - yeah. rent, taxes, and utilities are probably the only ones that are not greatly affected by minimum wage. ~a
[2005-03-09 12:30:10] - aaron: don't forget tax ^_^ -dave
[2005-03-09 12:29:21] - a: I suppose stuff like rent is not affected -dave
[2005-03-09 12:28:31] - a: like which ones? isn't food the most important? aren't grocery stores affected by minimum wage? -dave
[2005-03-09 12:03:59] - i noticed you sayd "almost makes it a wash" . . . that's because not every penny that they spend will be going to fast food . . . much of the money they will spend will go to companies that are unaffected by the minimum wage values. ~a
[2005-03-09 11:59:12] - Aaron: Either way, raising prices almost makes it a wash then because people are making more money but they also have to spend more money. -Paul
[2005-03-09 11:58:36] - Aaron: It's possible, but I would think that would take more coordination among the companies than I would expect. Which place would raise prices first? -Paul
[2005-03-09 11:47:25] - s/global/national/
[2005-03-09 11:46:16] - paul: I think it would be more likely for a fast food chain to raise their prices if there were a global minimum wage increase. - aaron
[2005-03-09 11:45:13] - paul: but think of the children. ~a
[2005-03-09 11:36:38] - Aaron: But for a place (like a fast food restaurant) that pays mostly minimum wage and probably doesn't have a lot of money lying around to pay a lot more for their employees, an increase in minimum wage would most likely cause them to have to fire some of their workers. -Paul
[2005-03-09 11:33:26] - Aaron: Assuming they aren't using all of their X amount of money on the employees they currently have (or they are paying their current employees above minimum wage anyway) then you are right. -Paul
[2005-03-09 11:18:24] - dave: Well, that is around $112 more per-month someone can spend on rent. It actually might make a difference for some people. But i understand your point. - aaron
[2005-03-09 11:16:41] - paul: Right, so if all companies have X amount of money to spend, and they already have all the employees they need, then (in a very simplified example) you can raise minimum wage and they won't have to fire anybody - aaron
[2005-03-09 10:41:23] - paul: yeah, I was going to comment on that too. It's true as far as I can think of -dave
[2005-03-09 10:40:52] - aaron: and maybe fast food can be forgiven that since they give you free food while you're working ^_^ -dave
[2005-03-09 10:40:06] - Dave: I think I read somewhere that most minumum wage jobs (or at least a great deal of them) are worked by teenagers or other people who don't need to necessarily live off the income (like housewives or retired people). -Paul
[2005-03-09 10:39:13] - aaron: I think fast food is the notable exception I can think of -dave
[2005-03-09 10:38:45] - Aaron: It's like a balancing act. If your company only has X amount of money to spend and they have to pay more money per employee, then they can't afford to hire as many employees (in a very simplified example). -Paul
[2005-03-09 10:38:23] - aaron: yeah, that's true. But at the same time, can you realistically see someone even living off minimum wage if the additional 70 cents or whatever, was added? Besides, in Northern VA, most jobs (like retail) will pay you more than min. wage anyways. -dave
[2005-03-09 10:35:09] - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050308-4681.html Japan issues antitrust warning to Intel -dave
[2005-03-09 10:34:57] - Aaron: I don't know if I quite understand what you're talking about, but raising minimum wage almost always results in LESS people being employed, not more. -Paul
[2005-03-09 10:30:38] - dave: Looking at nova, upi'd be really hard pressed to find a place to live + pay utilities and food with just 1 minimum wage job . . . - aaron
[2005-03-09 10:28:57] - dave: Looking at nova, upi'
[2005-03-09 10:28:41] - dave: Yeah, well i'm half assuming that the world is like NOVA where it's easy to find a job but impossible to finance a home. I'm sure there are parts of the U.S where jobs are scarce and housing is cheap enough where lowering the minimum wage would allow someone to live off of $12,500/yr - aaron
[2005-03-09 10:26:23] - I think a PPU could be thrown in as an extra to a game - especially with the examples he gave which were mostly environmental . . . Play half-life 3 with the PPU and see like, glass shatter more accurately, pools of blood accumulate and roll down slopes, bullet shells richochet off the walls and floor - it doesn't have to affect gameplay - aaron
[2005-03-09 10:24:55] - aaron: actually, I think you'd be surprised. I know that I had the same outlook on finding min. wage jobs before, but I think that's an artifact of coming from northern va. min. wage jobs aren't as easy to get elsewhere -dave
[2005-03-09 10:22:45] - I agree with dave that I think it should neither be raised or lowered right now - aaron
[2005-03-09 10:20:57] - paul: So at least from a naive perspective, ignoring the fact that higher wages imply higher prices, if all you care about is having the most people employed and earning the most money, it seems like minimum wage should be raised (that said, i don't necessarily think it should be...) - aaron
[2005-03-09 10:19:36] - paul: What percentage of people seeking jobs which pay minimum wage, are capable of finding jobs which pay minimum wage? I think it's pretty close to %99, or at least a very high number - aaron
[2005-03-09 10:16:55] - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050308-4682.html?32199 Add the PPU (physic processing unit) to the CPU and the GPU. Chip that does real-time physics processing with games in mind -dave
[2005-03-09 10:10:21] - Paul: Yeah, I think that's the crux of the issue -dave
[2005-03-09 09:49:55] - Dave: So I'm not entirely sure if it's a net gain to have some people get paid more while more people don't get paid at all. -Paul
[2005-03-09 09:48:44] - Dave: I think it's pretty well documented how changes in the minimum wage have strong affect on employment. -Paul
[2005-03-09 09:22:14] - a: this is true. Disregard my comments ^_^ -dave
[2005-03-09 09:17:11] - dave: aaron never said unemployment wasn't a concern
~a[2005-03-09 09:05:00] - oops, effect should be affect -dave
[2005-03-09 09:04:08] - aaron: I guess I was more thinking of how it would effect employment of those who minimum wage affects -dave
[2005-03-09 09:03:42] - aaron: what do you mean unemployment isn't a concern? Unemployment is probably one of the largest concerns for the US atm. Though I'm not sure how much the minimum wage impacts the unemployment figures -dave
[2005-03-09 09:02:49] - aaron: right, I don't think it should necessarily be lowered, but I'm not sure it should be raised either. -dave
[2005-03-09 08:48:09] - aaron: it's pretty obviously talking about the regular definition. ~a
[2005-03-09 08:47:19] - dave: As for the arguments against raising minimum wage, I get the impression that in the US, low wages are more of a concern right now than unemployment, so intuitively, raising the minimum wage seems like it would make more sense than lowering it - aaron
[2005-03-09 08:42:53] - dave: It must be referring to a different kind of abortion?? That's all i can think of - aaron
[2005-03-09 07:53:36] - http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B46049B37%2DBE4E%2D483B%2D8860%2DB1E728388907%7D&siteid=mktw&dist= red flags that draw tax audits -dave
[2005-03-09 07:47:20] - besides, how many jobs actually keep their employees at minimum wage? Don't people usually get raises every so often? -dave
[2005-03-09 07:46:34] - it'd be interesting to see what the market would do if there was no minimum wage at all, but I'd probably guess there'd be enough "abuses" to warrant some kind of minimum wage -dave
[2005-03-09 07:44:37] - in my opinion, businesses are only going to raise consumer prices as a last resort, so then the only other things that can give are salary and profit -dave
[2005-03-09 07:41:46] - wages are probably the highest cost for anyone hiring people at minimum wage, and they're more likely to decide to make do with fewer people at a higher wage, than try to sustain the same number of people at the higher wage -dave
[2005-03-09 07:39:26] - also, what do you guys think of raising the minimum wage. I tend to side with the GOP that raising the minimum wage isn't really a sure-fire tool to reducing poverty. -dave
[2005-03-09 07:37:49] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/08/senate.abortion.ap/index.html can someone tell me how the bankruptcy bill is abortion related? -dave
[2005-03-09 07:34:01] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/03/08/antismoking.pill.ap/index.html anti-smoking drugs on the horizon (stop chemical addiction to nicotine) -dave
[2005-03-09 07:26:06] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/08/cnn.jackson.trial/index.html In my uninformed opinion Jackson's probably guilty, but man, what a horrible testimony by the brother -dave
[2005-03-09 07:22:42] - aaron: it's kinda hard for us to say since we don't really know any construction figures other than 1.9 mil to build a whole new building -dave
[2005-03-09 07:22:02] - aaron: oops, I didn't see you say "plus a punitive fee" so I guess you covered that. It all just comes down to what a reasonable punitive fee is -dave
[2005-03-09 07:20:44] - aaron: just think, if someone demolished your house, it probably wouldn't be fair for them to just build you the exact same house. You're inconvenienced by not having the house the whole time, having any plans for the house during that time disrupted, etc -dave
[2005-03-09 07:19:38] - aaron: yeah, to be completely fair, they would have to build another dilapidated building just like the one they demolished. Although, even if they did that, the woman still probably deserves a little more as recompense for all this trouble -dave
[2005-03-09 07:18:26] - aaron: the building that was demolished wasn't a house, it was some other sort of building. It's only recently that the land has been zoned residential -dave
[2005-03-08 16:43:52] - aaron: I do see it your way, but I don't know which side of the line I fall on. I guess this sort of stuff does happen to artists where one unlicensed sample can halt an entire CD, so maybe she should only be paid the 150k - vinnie
[2005-03-08 16:42:42] - dave: oops, I missed you saying that. yes - vinnie
[2005-03-08 16:35:23] - If you'll accept the metaphor of crashing a used car, then I think that fits somewhat well... And would it really cost 1.9 million to put up another building? I thought houses usually cost in the $70,000s to build... In DC, the finished building would probably be worth 1.9m, but that's because of property value - aaron
[2005-03-08 16:30:11] - vinnie: But that's the thing, if she had plans to rennovate the building, then the government shouldn't pay the cost of the rennovation. The government should pay the cost of erecting a new crappy building (plus, i would imagine, a punitive fee) - aaron
[2005-03-08 16:09:24] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/08/theater.spamalot.ap/index.html musical based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail with other Monty Python bits thrown in -dave
[2005-03-08 15:58:40] - and also given that I think her motive is probably just to get money at this point, but who knows -dave
[2005-03-08 15:57:32] - granted that she woulda had to pay some money to refurbish the now demolished building -dave
[2005-03-08 15:57:05] - vinnie: yeah, that's what I was trying to say - if she had plans to do something with the building that was torn down and still wants to do that now, it will cost the 1.9 mil to put up another building. -dave
[2005-03-08 15:43:24] - aaron, dave: well the article makes a good point, which is that even though the property was only worth 150k, the cost of putting up the same structure now would be in the millions. so basically she will have to put in way more money to accomplish the same thing she was going to, or not build and take the hit on the land deal. tricky situa - vinnie
[2005-03-08 15:09:12] - dave: If you're talking about the zoning issue, then yes I think perhaps they should make an exception and lift the zoning restrictions for her unusual case - aaron
[2005-03-08 13:33:43] - aaron: yeah, I think I agree with you. Though, to be fair, say she really had plans to turn the building into something, well, now that opportunity to do something with the building has been taken away -dave
[2005-03-08 13:19:44] - dave: I don't know who to side with here. She is basically asking for DC to fund the construction of a new house, which isn't what she bought. I think $150,000 is actually a pretty fair deal - aaron
[2005-03-08 13:04:31] - apparently a lady bought the land/building that was repossessed or somesuch. But the paperwork saying that it had been sold to her wasn't filed, so DC sent notice to the old owner that it was going to be demolished, and then demolished it -dave
[2005-03-08 13:03:27] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15312-2005Mar7.html DC accidentally demolishes building. -dave
[2005-03-08 12:58:37] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/08/army.recruiting.ap/index.html blacks and females less willing to join army -dave
[2005-03-08 12:54:21] - http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/08/technology/personaltech/mobile_virus.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes virus found in cellphone messaging -dave
[2005-03-08 10:15:08] - Dave: I very rarely search my computer either, and I can't remember the last time I searched my home computer for an email. -Paul
[2005-03-08 08:03:26] - has anyone tried it out? I personally don't really search my computer much, with maybe searching email as the most common. I suppose it can be useful if you're looking for something from a long ways back that you don't remember where you put it. -dave
[2005-03-08 08:01:40] - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050307-4676.html Google desktop emerges from beta -dave
[2005-03-08 07:59:26] - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050307-4677.html EU green lights software patents. Apparently India has software patents as well -dave
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