#292289 - 04/07/2007 02:49
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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I can't imagine Tricky Dick saying that he could only provide (unsworn) testimony if Spiro was in the room with him.
Just a warning: our iPod thread is careening dangerously toward fulfilling Godwin's Law.
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#292290 - 04/07/2007 02:50
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: DWallach]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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What are you, some sort of Thread Nazi?!?
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Bitt Faulk
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#292291 - 04/07/2007 03:06
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: DWallach]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
Quote:
I can't imagine Tricky Dick saying that he could only provide (unsworn) testimony if Spiro was in the room with him.
Just a warning: our iPod thread is careening dangerously toward fulfilling Godwin's Law.
Well, thank goodness. I was looking at the thread listing in Off-Topic earlier today and it was starting to look like "Warm 101" or "Smooth Jazz 103.7".
It only remains for Bitt to ask you if you are some kind of thread Nazi for this to be corrected.
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Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#292292 - 04/07/2007 09:25
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: DWallach]
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addict
Registered: 02/08/2004
Posts: 434
Loc: Helsinki, Finland
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Quote:
Quote:
I can't imagine Tricky Dick saying that he could only provide (unsworn) testimony if Spiro was in the room with him.
Just a warning: our iPod thread is careening dangerously toward fulfilling Godwin's Law.
Beh! I though we were talk about telephones! In any case W's term is almost up. Even though the Supreme Court is fuçked up for years to come, hopefully a new democratic administration will clean things up. I'm more worried at this point about Mr. Mayor making it into the White House.....
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#292293 - 05/07/2007 15:18
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31596
Loc: Seattle, WA
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And this present government is in no small part responsible for my decision to leave the country.
While I agree with your dislike of our current regime, I'm not convinced that the new government you're moving to has a better track record with regard to human rights.
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#292294 - 05/07/2007 16:13
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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While I agree with your dislike of our current regime...
Wow- I just jumped into this thread for the first time, so sorry for dropping into the middle of things.
I just watched Why We Fight earlier this week.
It's not the 'current regime' that's so awful. That is, they're blatant and despicable, yes, but there's no other direction that will be taken by this country anytime soon. There is no two party system in the US.
The question is- do you ride it out for the best of what's left, or quit and move someplace that (you hope) won't be affected?
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10101466 (2x60GB, Eutronix/GreenLights Blue) (Stolen!)
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#292295 - 05/07/2007 16:51
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
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Quote:
While I agree with your dislike of our current regime, I'm not convinced that the new government you're moving to has a better track record with regard to human rights.
You are absolutely correct in your unconvincedness. (I'll bet that word hasn't been used on the bbs before!  ) However, there is a great deal more going on than the erosion (Erosion? Hell, outright destruction!) of civil rights. Bush's death count in Iraq is half way to Pol Pot's. Trillions of dollars of deficit spending will never be paid off.* Environmental destruction continues an unprecedented level.** He shows an absolutely blatant disregard for the morality of right and wrong.*** He attempts to force Americans to live by his religious beliefs.****
[OK. Stop. Deep breath. om mani padme hum. exhale... there, all better now.]
This is not an issue where I feel I personally have suffered (not yet, anyway) through any now legalized violation of my rights. I am taking a larger view. As the oldest member of this bbs, I have seen a lot of administrations come and go and I can tell you without reservation there has never been any previous one (in my 2/3 century lifetime at least) to match this one for sheer evilness and corruption. Never before have I been embarrassed to be an American.
So what am I doing about it? I don't know what to do. I'm just a single grumpy old curmudgeon whose only avenue of power is the ballot box, and even though I excercise that minute bit of power regularly, it appears to be totally ineffective. I cannot even remember the last time someone I voted for actually won an election. So I am taking the coward's way out and abandoning the mess for others to clean up. If they can, which I feel is unlikely.
I'm sorry.
tanstaafl.
*I anticipate that the value (i.e. purchasing power) of the dollar will decrease enormously over the next few years as the Fed cranks up the printing presses to make payments on the indebtedness. In 10 years an entry level automobile will still cost you what it does today: about half a year's gross salary for most people. But that salary will be at least three to four times the number of dollars it is today. My retirement income, which seems lavish today, will be poverty level in 10 years.
** Bush and his fellow flat earthers will deny the reality of global warming until it becomes profitable for them to admit it. Kyoto agreement, anyone?
***Can you say "Scooter Libby"?
****How about stem cell research, which might in the long run save as many lives as he has cost in Iraq?
_________________________
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
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#292296 - 05/07/2007 17:33
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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One point you raise, currency devaluation, is a curious problem. Regardless of your political views, nothing is freakier than the risk of losing everything you've got to inflation (or, perhaps stagflation). Of course, you can make inflation work for you instead of against you.
Big home mortgage? Big win if the dollar devalues. (You still owe the bank the same amount of dollars, but that represents increasingly less of the real value of the home, assuming you were smart enough to get a fixed-rate mortgage.)
Also, you can invest your money in a variety of inflation-resistant instruments, from U.S. government i-bonds (a pretty good deal when you buy them directly from the government at treasurydirect.gov), to multinational corporate stock (they make money everywhere, not just in the U.S.), to real estate (see above), to timber or precious minerals.
In short, if you've got even modest assets (e.g., a 401(k) plan), then you can take modest steps to insulate yourself against dollar devaluation. The only people who get really screwed are the poor, of course, since they have no investments. If the economy and government spending don't get straightened out soon, then you can easily imagine negative consequences.
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#292297 - 05/07/2007 17:44
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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enthusiast
Registered: 12/05/2002
Posts: 205
Loc: Virginia, USA
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Quote:
So what am I doing about it? I don't know what to do. I'm just a single grumpy old curmudgeon whose only avenue of power is the ballot box, and even though I excercise that minute bit of power regularly, it appears to be totally ineffective. I cannot even remember the last time someone I voted for actually won an election. So I am taking the coward's way out and abandoning the mess for others to clean up. If they can, which I feel is unlikely.
That brings up an interesting idea. I think it would be neat to have a negative vote. If you don't really support any candidate, you can place an anitvote for a least desired cadidate which would negate someone elses vote for that candidate. I'm sure that if that were in place during the last election, things would have turned out much different.
Such a system would discourage a candidate from catering to a single group and cater more to the general populace in a more generic approach. We would have much better candidates that way.
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RioCar MK][a 20GB+80GB
'96 Saab 900s (Not any more)
Still looking for a good way to install in a 2010 BMW 3 series with iDrive/NAV
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#292298 - 05/07/2007 17:56
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: bbowman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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That brings up an interesting idea. I think it would be neat to have a negative vote. If you don't really support any candidate, you can place an anitvote for a least desired cadidate which would negate someone elses vote for that candidate. I'm sure that if that were in place during the last election, things would have turned out much different.
I think IRV is a much better solution. It allows a "least desired candidate" to be penalized, but still requires that the voter support *someone* who they think can do the job. There's no real good done if you just negate someone else's vote without supporting another candidate, IMHO.
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#292299 - 05/07/2007 18:07
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tonyc]
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enthusiast
Registered: 12/05/2002
Posts: 205
Loc: Virginia, USA
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I probably should have replaced the phrase "least desired candidate" with "hated candidate". That way it makes more sense, but the IVF is certainly a better method even if it does require a little more inteligence from the voter.
_________________________
Brent
RioCar MK][a 20GB+80GB
'96 Saab 900s (Not any more)
Still looking for a good way to install in a 2010 BMW 3 series with iDrive/NAV
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#292300 - 05/07/2007 22:29
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: DWallach]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
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Quote:
One point you raise, currency devaluation, is a curious problem. [snip] Of course, you can make inflation work for you instead of against you. Big home mortgage? Big win if the dollar devalues.
Trust me, I have given this a lot of consideration. I am torn between two courses of action. (1) Be greatly in debt and let the lenders suffer the consequences of a devalued dollar; or (2) the "bunker mentality" of being beholden to no-one and thus my assets will be safe.
#1 is distasteful to me, the idea of deliberately taking action to set myself up to profit from others' misfortune does not sit well with my personal sense of morality.
#2 feels more secure to me, although I am quite willing to accept that I may be reasoning from insufficient knowledge. My plans are to build my new home in Mexico without a mortgage, owning the property and the house free and clear. I have enough land and suitable climate with the house to grow food should it become necessary. My only inescapable financial obligations will be annual taxes on the house (~$200 per year!), and utility payments that will run considerably more but which I may be able for the most part to avoid.
My wife and I both have medical insurance as long as our pensions remain solvent (something we are not counting on!) so one potentially major expense is somewhat alleviated.
I am prepared to hunker down in my fortress of a house (8" thick masonry walls, steel bars on the windows, 6' stone wall with razor wire surrounding the whole property, etc.) and wait it out, hoping that my paranoid doomsday scenario never actually comes to pass.
Above all, I keep in mind that no matter how bad it gets, I will still be among the fortunate few. My problems, real or anticipated, are completely trivial compared to those of billions of other people on this planet. There are people who only have time and resources to try and "...steal enough food to keep the baby alive for one more day, and hope the bombers don't come again tonight..."
tanstaafl.
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"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
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#292301 - 08/07/2007 13:45
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 19/09/2002
Posts: 2494
Loc: East Coast, USA
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8" thick masonry walls
Put a geothermal exchange in that bad boy and your heat/AC utilities will vanish. I've heard concrete homes have excellent thermal properties.
Maybe we should move to China or India and submit ourselves as slaves to the forthcoming empires before they subjugate us in 30 years or so. You know, get a jump start on things, have time to learn the local dialects.
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#292302 - 08/07/2007 16:29
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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Trust me, I have given this a lot of consideration. I am torn between two courses of action. (1) Be greatly in debt and let the lenders suffer the consequences of a devalued dollar; or (2) the "bunker mentality" of being beholden to no-one and thus my assets will be safe.
Doesn't #1 imply a belief that you will remain employed at sufficient compensation levels to keep up with the debt load? There are a more than a few who are finding that difficult even now.
_________________________
Glenn
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#292303 - 09/07/2007 02:02
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: FireFox31]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
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Quote:
Put a geothermal exchange in that bad boy and your heat/AC utilities will vanish. I've heard concrete homes have excellent thermal properties.
Heat/AC utilities will not be a problem. The climate there is so temperate that homes are normally built without means to either heat or cool them, and in fact the lavish B&B we stayed at over Christmas had the kitchen/dining area completely open to the outdoors with no provision for closing it off.
Electricity, water, and sewer will by my utility expenses. Electricity is expensive enough there that solar electrical generation may be cost effective. I don't know what the local regulations would be about installing my own septic system, but since my property is located only about 10 feet above the lake level (i.e., local water table) I don't think it would be possible in any case. There is a well on the property, but the water is not potable. Perhaps with adequate filtration/purification system...
The above scenarios would only take place if things went really badly. To start with I'll be on the utility grids like everyone else.
tanstaafl.
_________________________
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
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#292304 - 09/07/2007 02:14
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: gbeer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
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Quote:
Doesn't #1 imply a belief that you will remain employed at sufficient compensation levels to keep up with the debt load? There are a more than a few who are finding that difficult even now.
Yes... and no.
The idea is that your debt load (i.e., monthly payments) would remain fixed while your compensation level rose with inflation. If my expectations come to pass, over the next 3--5 years the debt you owe would not change dollar-wise, but the number of hours you had to work to pay it off would be cut by two-thirds.
You shouldn't look at indebtedness in terms of dollars. You should evaluate it in man-hours worked to pay it off.
In my case, option #1 is not possible, because my retirement income will for the most part be fixed without COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment). Hmmm... thinking about it, it's not as bleak as that: about 50% of it will be COLAed. But in five years there will be a lot less disposable income available to us than when we started out.
I keep thinking about the old Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." Well, I think things are going to get interesting.
tanstaafl.
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"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
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#292305 - 09/07/2007 02:59
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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Well... There are a couple of declining industries here where people are rolling back their wages or are finding themselves looking for a new job and not finding the same wage scales available. That's sort of what I was thinking of.
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Glenn
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#368969 - 30/06/2017 05:25
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: jbauer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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#368970 - 30/06/2017 06:28
Re: Apple iPhone announced.
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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I still remember getting to see (but not touch) Hugo's iPhone in a basement restaurant somewhere. A bunch of us just grilled him on how well the keyboard worked, I don't think any of us believed him when he said it worked really well 
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