kagerioshu

I don't mean to sound cynical about this, but I think the moment human judgment is replaced completely for a task is when the purpose of the task will fail to suit human needs.Specifically speaking, I mean a computer should add to human judgment, not replace it. If a car is going to drive humans, then why not just have the computers define where the cars will go in the first place and how they'll drive there to prevent errors incorporated by chance due to the randomness of choosing a destination and controlling any aspect of the vehicle? Oh wait, if that happens, what's the point of getting in a car? Even a train is controlled by human judgment, it's just a matter of having a linear travel path...

Astrology has held my interest on and off for quite some time. I can't say I believe in horoscopes but perhaps there could be some truth to the descriptions given to signs and their types...Then again, it could all be a matter of selective thinking, generalizations, and other tricks of the trade. Basically, sun signs in themselves seem to be too vague and generalized while natal astrology is too diffusive to say anything particularly profound, accurate or specific. Both approaches seem to avoid making clear statements and offer "either-or" descriptions that effectively say nothing definitive about a person's character.It just seems that astrology gives you little in terms of particulars and always offers an alternative in case the first assumption is wrong, which keeps people reading what they want to choose to like about their description and accepting what they believe is true and omitting the rest... which basically means it amounts to nothing much at all. To describe a personality means dealing entirely with abstractions; you simply can't say "He likes flowers" and mean anything other than just that. Instead, you say like "He's compassionate and resourceful", which is nothing but interpretation. Even though it suffices for basic communication, it gives you very little to base the "truth" on, and that's something that astrology capitalizes on by using the vagueness of speech and the promise of clairvoyance to make people believe what they want when reading things about themselves.In anycase, I think it's better just to pursue psychology and the sciences to understand how the human identity really functions (id, ego, etc.) but that's just me.

I think my most famously disastrous cooking moment occurred when I was attempting to make Bruschetta. As you may know, Bruschetta uses slices of toasted baker's bread along with deli meats, cheeses, tomatoes, pesto, basil, or any combination of such ingredients as topping.Well, when I was toasting the artisan bread I bought, I accidentally left it in at max temperature (450f or so) for ten minutes -- or longer perhaps. When I remembered to check my bread, the toaster oven was filled with smoke and a slight glow. Of course, I should of just unplugged the thing right there and got a pot of water ready, but being the fool I was, I decided to open it to try and take the bread out immediately. Well, as soon as I pulled the door down, I allowed a gust of fresh oxygen inside the unit which basically caused a chemical chain reaction to occur, creating a sudden uproar of fire that belched forth from the door of the toaster oven in the form of a vicious fireball that hit my chest.It wasn't particularly painful or anything, but it was definitely alarming -- especially considering the whole unit was up in flames now... the source being some small slices of basic wheat bread.Basically, I had to just pull the sink sprayer out from the base and hose the thing down until it was extinguished. Even though the fire was taken care of, it certainly did nothing to prevent my apartment from filling up with a terrible black smoke that left a smell which lasted for weeks. At least the landlord never found out!

It's pretty simple to protect a CD -- however, you simply can't protect it better than any company has managed to protect the content on their published CDs. That being said, if you're just looking to keep a little brother or your family out of your CD, then that is as simple as using basic security tools (password requirement, copy protection in certain programs such as Nero, etc.)However, if you want to do CD publishing, then you need to understand your target audience and utilize a form of security that is suited to their level of understanding and ability. In anycase, one of the best things you can do is aim to protect more than just basic access to the cd itself -- you'll want to do file-level encryption and adjust the contents so they can only be interpreted. It's moderately complicated, but there are plenty of easy and cheap tools out there to help you accomplish this.

I don't think the Nano is honestly something that would be drivable in America, but it does represents a manufacturing ideology that would be outstanding to have over here. If countries like India are experiencing rapid development, then it is because they are making nationwide financially sensible choices regarding their resources and level of income. The Nano isn't simply a cheap vehicle; it's a car that is meant to fit a sensible budget.I think the biggest hurdle for having cheaper cars in the states is due to the excessive nanny protection we have regarding vehicle safety and emission standards. There's also the fact that a freewheeling credit system has allowed people to live well beyond their means, giving them the opportunity to buy and buy again the "next biggest thing" which applies especially to the automotive market. So, for decades it has been easy for certain manufacturers to sell heavy, inefficient, incredibly expensive and poorly designed cars on the basis that they'll be quickly replaced anyways. Regardless, I think a lot of the laws governing car design is ridiculous -- especially emission standards. I don't think cars output make any tangible impact on the environment, and I have done my studies regarding this, but that's debatable as always.If Americans can learn to adapt to living within the realms of their income and not the expansive consuamer terrorities allowed by credit, then they can learn to appreciate cars like the nano that are lighter, smaller, more efficient, and generally cheaper by design. Of course, they have to be designed to fit the needs of our interstate and highway system, but be applicable for town driving as well.

I have nothing really good or bad to say about Chase, and this is just a personal anecdote, but when I tried to apply for a checking account three years ago with them, they seriously refused me on the grounds that I had no credit. Mind you, this was with 1,500 dollars cash in hand... I was led to a desk where one of the bank managers gave me a formal interview(??) and then proceeded with a credit check which he then told me was insufficient to open an account with them... Like what was that?I have never had that sort of issue at any other bank; opening a checking account is just a matter of talking with the teller and little more. I can't imagine why anyone would require "credit" to utilize a simple account that pulls on their money alone, but what do I know? Chase as a business was swallowed up by the competitor banks where I lived at the time, so maybe it just had to do with that particular region.In any case, I can wholly recommend credit unions as I've never had problems with them issuing overdraft fees or even allowing an overdraft to occur in the first place. Unlike Chase and other banks, they sometimes have fines for leaving a low balance (usually underneath 50 or so), but otherwise they give you exceptional treatment and terms of service.

I know these games aren't exactly RPGs in the conventional sense, but I really enjoyed the Shining Soul series immensely.There were only two releases for the GBA, but both games, Shining Soul I & II, are incredibly good action rpg titles that give you a touch of the Diablo formula with jrpg sensibility in a hand-held package. Basically, you get colorful environments, addictive character building and customization, and a decent story that pulls you through each chapter towards a final exciting conclusion. It's not terribly meaningful, but the sensation of going on a journey to fulfill a quest is very strong, which gives the games a keen sense of adventure.The cool thing is that Shining Soul II is a virtual improvement over the first game in almost every way. However, both games are very good, so I recommend trying them out.

I don't know anything about this particular model, but cloud computing as a concept is simply the collective resources of networked computers operating in tandem to provide a virtual service of some sort.Basically, you get the power and performance of a wide range of computers that provide your system data and resources it couldn't hope to process on its own. Despite "cloud computing" being a relatively new buzzword, this sort of distributed functionality has been in use for years for things like mapping the human genome, calculating astronomy, and even attempting to detect alien lifeforms.By the way, I heard that Microsoft is thinking about utilizing the technology for a future Windows platform... just a rumor from cnet or wherever, but I can't imagine that being very successful.

I have no scientific knowledge regarding how long a person can live without water, but I imagine it depends on several physical and external factors. For example, if someone stays sedentary in a cool environment, he or she can probably live for a week without water I imagine, and perhaps maybe with admittedly ailing health for longer.However, I'm pretty positive that a person can live three days without water though given a physically comfortable environment with no strenuous effort; another man's plight has proven this already. I'm not sure if I can link to external videos or websites on this forum, but do a search for "man trapped in elevator" on Google or your search engine of choice. You'll undoubtedly find at least one example of the man who was trapped in his corporate building's elevator for at least 41 hours -- no three days, but he wasn't terribly dehydrated either for what the ordeal was worth.To support my ideas, searching online I found that a human can survive for 10 days in 60 F climate with "shade" if he has access to no water at all. Using the same chart, for a human to have only three days of life left, the weather or atmosphere has to be a scorching 110 F. Of course, these measurements take for granted that the person wouldn't be involved in strenuous physical effort of any kind.All the same, I can't definitively prove how long a person can survive one way or another... at least, I certainly don't want to try it myself.

North Korea is bankrupt in every sense of the word. They literally have no functional economy to speak of, and present nothing valuable to the world or even to its own citizens.You can't blame the majority of the country's people, however; the "government", if you'd even call it that, is nothing more than a barbaric militia that exploits North Korea's geography and international recognition as a country to serve its centralized and tightly organized ruling elite. This is accomplished by disfranchising, brainwashing, and victimizing the hundreds of millions of citizens the country holds prisoner while defending its actions as legitimate "culture" to the outside world by perverting the meaning of the concept.To say that the country is doing anything "peaceful" is far too much of a stretch even for apologist multiculturalism. There is no culture in North Korean for remotely any kind of "peaceful" activity to occur; a realistic look at the way the country operates will reveal the brutal and insane conditions tolerated there as a ?way of life?: epidemic famine, virtually no civil amenities, forced worship of the government, and propagated hatred towards every aspect of the outside world. I don't have to make an effort to prove this: all it takes is a simple google search to understand the issue. North Korea consists of a ridiculously delusional and morally bankrupt bureaucracy with crazy propagandist behavior which instigates brutality and forced poverty against its civilians.The country manages to scrape by because it maintains strained relations with China, which continues to provide the DPRK (Democratic Republic of North Korea) with tons of rice every year to keep the country's citizens from dying of starvation. This is a political maneuver on part of China, because the red nation's relationship to North Korea is like that of a master and his untamed dog: the master has the ability to sic the dog after others who threaten it, but has to tolerate the dog which occasionally bites the hand that feeds it.Why do they do this? Because North Korea is built as a war machine: despite being ridiculously poor, the country has poured every single bit of its resources into building a ferocious military -- the fourth largest in the world, in fact. Why does a country as destitute and terrible to its citizens like North Korea need such a ridiculously large army? All aspects of the country are designed to reinforce and develop the military to shield and serve the ruling elite, which is paranoid of being stripped of power by the outside world (specifically the USA). It also aims to take over South Korea, which is preached to its citizens as the country's "destiny" when in reality its a desire of the DPRK to rob the south of its wealth and resources to keep NK's government in power. China takes advantage of this by making the country dependent on it so it can have access to its army if it ever needed it (roughly speaking).I mention these things because there is no literal way North Korea has any intention of doing something "peaceful", unless you define "peaceful" as meaning "protect our country's equivalent of the U.S.S.R's nomenklatura at the expense of the nation's citizens while threatening the safety and stability of the rest of the world.If North Korea is launching an "object", then you can be absolutely certain it is doing it for the sake of warfare or at the very least militaristic reasons. They twist and pervert the concept of "peaceful use" when the country itself admitted to having hostile intentions towards South Korea, Japan, and even North America (which it is actually terrified of). It uses the laws and regulations of the outside world when its convenient to do so while trying to simultaneously pursue its dishonest efforts towards advancing its military for the sake of potential conquest. The country does nothing but build its military because it ay need to obtain resources at gunpoint from South Korea and because its afraid of the world removing its kings from their unearned thrones. Ironically enough, that fear is honestly the only thing that has kept North Korea restrained from starting a WW III -- DPRK has a deeply rooted sense of paranoia that everything will come crashing down on them if they make any mistakes. However, with the rumor of their ruler Kim Jung Ill's death being true and a potential internal collapse, that may just happen on its own.

I don't really think the vegetarian diet itself can be blamed in this case. Rather, it's that veggies are included as a measure these individuals take when pursuing their drastic methods for maintaining a certain body image. They look at it as a means of limiting calories rather than gaining proper vitamins, which is what harms them in the long run.A vegetarian diet is viable I believe, but there are problems with it if you omit sources of protein. Even things like nuts and beans that have protein aren't optimal as a single source of the amino acid due to limited absorption. If your focus is on being healthy rather than being "thin", then you'll know that a proper balance of vegetables and meat provide the vitamins and protein we need to survive and stay fit and sharp.

I agree with the general sentiment that darker sites look best. That's the kind of scheme I use for my site (which you can find in my profile). Although my website represents more of an oldschool approach with the use of ANSI art and all, it's still pleasing to look at I think.However, I took the "oldschool" too far and utilized basic HTML and tables for my layout... which is a miserable pain to maintain. I need to upgrade to CSS, sigh. That's what I'll be working on next.Anyways, as for color choices and such, I definitely advocate darker colors. A combination of around 3 primary colors and a few secondary choices for touches is ideal I imagine, but that's just me.

I agree with Zeyomie. There's a saying that went around during the days leading up to the election, that there are two primary camps -- those who love Obama and those who hate him. Judging from my own experiences with other people, I can say that's pretty true -- it even seemed true based on how immature McCain and Palin handled their position leading up to the election.I also hope it does lead to some racial relief, because I had to deal with the same situation as Zeyomie. I originally lived in the south, around Louisiana (In America for those who are foreign), and the issues there are largely identical. With an African American president, things should improve and a sense of balance should be gained I think.As for watching TV on Jan 20th, I don't think I'll really tune in on that either.

If you know how to look carefully, you can find some pretty sweet deals on Craigslist. Just be careful, and know what you're getting before you buy it. It's actually a pretty legitimate and awesome way of getting incredible stuff for really cheap prices. I would honestly trust craigslist before I'd go to ebay, but that's just me.The difference between buying a new component and a used one is simply that if the used component is older than a month, chances are it's going to last a lifetime. That's how it goes with computer hardware. The physical errors in design pop up very quickly on equipment that is messed up. With that knowledge, you can shop used with a sense of cautious confidence.Of course, buying new means you get the full warranty and everything else that comes with something straight from the retailer. However, if you want really cheap equipment that's new, look for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts on a site of your choice, such as Newegg.com. These are sold straight as they come from the manufacturer, meaning you don't get all the frills and packaging a retail product incorporates. However, you enjoy the same exact product with the same warranties (usually) for a much lower cost.

I would of switched to a free operating system awhile ago if some of my essential applications were compatible with it. 3d Modeling, some program engines, this and that. As it is, I'm hoping Windows 7 is a big success and does great for itself. I personally can't use Vista because it's like Windows ME all over again, but if 7 proves to be as good as what people are saying about it, then it can be my personal successor to XP.

There are plenty of tools for this. As rvalkass said, you can get a pc tuner card. However, not all of them incorporate delay. That's largely dependent on whether or not the card does its own processing and how you utilize it in terms of display. Plenty of software for tuners allow you to utilize a direct-pass method that disables the filters that incorporate delay, reducing the lag to a negligible status.One such program is Dscaler -- if you get a card, google it. It's recommended. I use it myself for my tv tuner, which is a Leadtek WinFast TV2000 XP Expert. (Not all that fancy really, just one of the best for the price range a few years back). For HD support, I have an external KWorld TVBox 1680ex -- I bought it around a year and a half ago. I don't know if they still make that model, but it supports numerous inputs and has HD-compatibility and output.Such as with my KWorld tuner, there are plenty of external boxes as well that allow you to hook up a console directly to a monitor. However, you want to know ahead of time that these often require the dedication of a monitor's connection ports, meaning that you won't be able to use your monitor for other things unless you hook it back up to your computer or whatever. Plenty of boxes have pass-throughs, but these are not always of high quality and may weaken or mess up the signal somewhat, resulting in a poor display. Also, not even box supports HD, so you may want to get one that does in order to be prepared for the future.Generally speaking, if you want to play a console with your monitor, what you want to look for is either a video tuner card or an external TV tuner. Newegg has a great selection, just look under Video Cards & Video Devices and then the TV tuner category. You'll want to research this first, as it requires some understanding of what you're getting before you take the plunge with your money. Know the ports, know what can and can't be done, know if there is significant delay or not... Fortunately, some manufacturers have realized the market for people who just want to play games on their high-quality monitors, and make it simple with external tuners that simply covert signals for gaming. They advertise them as such too, and it isn't too hard to find them with just moderate searching.If I may make a recommendation, Leadtek is still making the card I have today. It's slightly upgraded, but still not HD, so you may want to look elsewhere. It gets the job done, though. Good luck!

I want to make friends with bees. To get honey. Maybe have them deliver it to my door.But lord knows that's impossible. I'm allergic to wasp stings, and those brothers like to hang out with the posse and stir up some real trouble. A bee relationship could never work out with me. :PI love honey, though. I think they make more so I can enjoy it myself. Makes sense. It's a wonderful attribute to this zany process called life!

Honey is something excellent that everybody should have in their countertops. It's a wonderful addition to numerous foods, and serves as a remedy for all sorts of things. I recommend buying honey locally if you can help it, because when it comes fresh from your state farms, it's absolutely wonderful.Now that it is getting really cold, it's a good idea to have honey in the event you develop a sore throat. It helps wonderfully with that.Honey!

Canned vegetables are actually still very nutritious, but the key to getting that nutrition out of them is using the juices they sit in. When being prepared, they're often cooked in the water they come in, and this causes the vitamins and minerals and such to seep out into the can. Sitting on a shelf for awhile contributes to this as well. When making rice or a soup and using canned vegetables, try cooking with the water that comes with the can.Basically, I'm in the same boat as you, and in order to survive, you gotta do what you can. However, it's easy to eat healthy and spend little. In all reality, junk food is actually quite expensive for what you get in terms of volume. Nutrition-wise, it's just throwing money away.If you have them in your area, try looking for a bagel shop that offers yesterday's bagels for half-off. Homemade bagels or shop bagels are infinitely better than the kind you can buy prepackaged at a store. They're made from better ingredients, and are generally wholesome. Even with the discounted old bagels, all you have to do is soak them or toast them as they are to get something delicious and healthy for you. bagels are a great source of fiber and protein, besides whatever else is mixed into them to create different varieties.

From what you described, sandwiches are your best bet. Try finding good loaves that are all-natural or at least close to it at your local grocer, and have fun making veggie sandwiches. Although having them last is a matter of luck I suppose...If you want a "meat" that lasts, fish is definitely your best solution. Try mixing tuna with vegetables in a dicer and make some tuna salad sandwiches. Although I must warn you first that tuna is high on mercury content, so I would definitely moderate that.Peanut butter is great, but it does get old fast, I admit.

Some of the most craziest examples I've ever seen in my life. For better or worse, I've been around the net since the middle of 98, and I can tell you that I've seen some wicked things that outdo even the examples in this thread. Too bad(?) most of them have disappeared since then though...Anybody remember Xoom hosting? That was a prime source of terrible site design if there ever was one. Sheesh.

I'm not one to be cynical, but the patent and copyright system in America is so bad and backwards that all it takes is sufficient pressure with a well-paid lawyer to get anything done that you want. In a lot of cases, it ends up being a bully system based on money. This seems to be such a case.

As an amateur photographer, I recommend the Fujifilm FinePix series. They're not at all DSLR, but their quality is very close to what you can capture with a high-end professional level camera.I personally own a FinePix s700. I bought it on clearance when the s1000 series was released, so I only paid around $150 American dollars for it. That was around the beginning of last year, I think. Compared to everything else in that price range, there was simply nothing as powerful and versatile as what I bought.Eventually, I would love to upgrade to a DSLR, such as a Nikon d60. Even though the FinePix is excellent for most purposes, a photographer can really tell the difference between a DSLR and a pseudo-SLR in most applications. Good photographic skill can compensate largely for the differences in technical ability, and produce results that are excellent (as I try to do), but DLSR technology really is undeniably fantastic all-around for getting truly professional results.Time will tell if I can afford one, however!

Cemerteryrecords brought up an interesting and correct point. Cigarettes affect the brain chemistry in a way that is conductive to relaxation and stress-relief. This largely comes from the inclusion of nicotine, but the behavior itself can be enjoyable and relaxing for psychological reasons as well. Look it up; there are legitimate scientific studies on the effects tobacco and nicotine have in this sense.

A lot of people may have started smoking because of reasons such as peer-pressure, but ultimately that's not the same case for everyone. Speaking for myself, I only started last year, and I did it entirely on my own. I limit myself to quality non-conventional brands such as Nat Sherman's and Djarum, and I only smoke around a pack a month, or two packs at most. I don't appreciate the numerous chemicals put in regular American cigarettes, and I don't like how fast they burn because of it. If I smoke too much, I end up feeling sick.

I'm not going to say my tastes or habits are better than anyone else's though, so don't get me wrong there. It's all about how you enjoy smoking and what it does for you. In that regards, I found smoking to be an incredible way to give myself a sense of relaxation and composure on demand. It's enticing for me, and delivers peace and comfort.

And yes, in the vast majority of cases, I see women smoking more often than men, really. But I wouldn't know who smokes more statistically. Don't dismiss it just because it is taboo in today's culture. There's a lot more involved here than just "appearance". I rarely smoke publicly, but I don't dislike others who do or find it to be disgusting.

Truthfully, the most significant thing that makes smoking unhealthy is the large number of chemicals that regular American cigarettes are treated with. I avoid this by sticking to Sherman brands when possible, or Djarum otherwise. I'm never going to say that smoking is ever healthy or good for you, but you can bypass a lot of harm that is associated with the habit by knowing what you smoke.

I don't smoke very often, and I limit my consumption to just cloves such as Djarum Blacks, but I have to say that my favorite cigarette is definitely the first one of the day. The kick I get from that is pretty legendary. I usually wait and prevent myself from smoking for as long as possible until I get to that first one, simply because it's so incredible. Nicotine is better when it's rarer ;bI don't smoke typical cigarettes at all. Not because I'm a pretentious twit, but because I just don't enjoy their taste and the way they're produced. My other smoke of choice is Nat Shermans, which I think are excellent non-clove products. Smoking is an expensive habit though, and it would be even worse for me given my tastes if I didn't limit myself to a pack a month. Maybe two packs at most.