Skeptical

.... and the persecution continues. Terrorists, fortunately, have not generally been very good at producing bombs. I'm far more worried about them perfecting the production of large-scale explosive devices to use against established infrastructure than I am about locations of vital infrastructure being posted online: if these organizations are even half-competent, then they will already be aware. What, two(?) bombers on American soil in the past year that have failed to produce an actual explosion? Are you referring to the Oklahoma City Bombing which was done by a homegrown terrorist? As well as the World Trade Center Bombing in the early 90's? Edit: They produced an explosion, the Oklahoma bombing killed quite a few children in a day care as well as workers.

.... and the persecution continues. Terrorists, fortunately, have not generally been very good at producing bombs. I'm far more worried about them perfecting the production of large-scale explosive devices to use against established infrastructure than I am about locations of vital infrastructure being posted online: if these organizations are even half-competent, then they will already be aware. What, two(?) bombers on American soil in the past year that have failed to produce an actual explosion?

I first played Minecraft with a pirated copy. I purchased a copy last night, even though I could play for free, because I believe that piracy was an unacceptable path: there's no record company sucking up the money, no EA or Microsoft, no DRM, he's going to release it in the public domain eventually. There's really just no way that I could justify it. BTW, are the save games cross platform? As in, can I move a game from the Windows 7 save of the game to my Ubuntu laptop?

Most of the time, I hate getting gift cards. 90% of the time, they're to Chapters, which I hate, since I despise the chain and would rather use the money at a local bookstore, or on Amazon. If you don't know me well enough to get me a present, you really don't need to get me one. If you really feel obliged, then cash is great: I don't really understand what the social stigma against it is. People appreciate (or at least say that they do) "home-made" gifts, claiming that the time invested in them creates a more valuable present. Money, however, is just a placeholder for goods or services (time). If I spend 4 hours working for the cash that I give you, that's far more of an investment than an hour or two in producing an equivalent gift.

When the volume on a digital radio isn't a rounded number. Christians insisting that atheism is responsible for Holocaust/USSR, while ignoring the link between Catholicism and Facism. Atheists who insist that the Catholic Church represents all Catholics. People who insist on fighting, but then duck out of it. Stand behind your words, else resign yourself to being ignored.

It's what happens when you provide the truth and people don't like it. My irritation with those who demand the banning or dismantling of WIkileaks is growing greater by the day. So far I've heard nothing but sensationalist and knee-jerk news reports about how Assange is helping the terrorists win. Funny that the only way that they can get anyone to cooperate anymore is by reminding them that they're working for the enemy. Never mind your own moral compass, because they're the scary enemy, and our government's behavior is far to complex for you, a mere mortal, to understand.

Wow. When I first saw this, I was essentially just "meh" about it, but after playing it for a bit, I can say that I am completely addicted.

At best it's a necessary evil. This. I believe a government should be honest and transparent....insofar as it's possible to do so without compromising national security. I would agree but for one issue: who gets to decide at what point the information is compromising national security? Look at the changes in the US since 9/11: they're scary as hell, and all done in the name of preserving the security of the country. I for one don't wish to trade my freedom for safety, or wish to impose my own opinions of what an acceptable trade is on others.

Getting paid to write and argue. And to be able to do it outside, at midnight, with amazingly realistic robotic strippers. (And no, I'm not trolling: that was the best that I could come up with.)

I am fairly well read: I'm not trying to bloat my already over-inflated ego, and to be fair, the majority of my reading is non-fiction, but I don't understand your distinction of "literature" and "great literature." What is classified as "great" literature is entirely relative: one person can say one thing, another can say something else. I'm sure that the majority of teenage girls would argue quite determinedly that Twilight is the masterpiece of 21st century fiction, and quite a few Potter fans would do the same, whereas all of the literary snobs are busy arguing about whether either book has any literary value, so that they can appear all the more pretentious criticizing the other. I'm quite sick of it: books are a way of creating stories and transferring information - I hate Twilight (and let other people know it) but I don't waste my time attempting to pass judgments about what is and what is not literature. In this respect, books are like free speech, in that no fair line can be drawn, so we must accept it all.

Back in Black -ACDC

I laughed. Assasians Creed's DRM (including server confirmation and about a hundred different codes) was broken in under.... 72 hours? The hackers will always win: DRM just messes up the product for those that actually buy it. Regardless if I was a developer of a game I would need to accept that plenty of people may find a way to illegally download my game, however if they like my game a lot they might be inclined to purchase additional content or other benefits for a fee. I have no idea how the music industry can implement this but then again I am not getting paid to think of such an idea :shades: My point is to rely on the government to uphold your business plan is lazy and a waste of public money Oh, I absolutely agree: I'm just saying that DRM is an idiotic way to go about doing it. Creating a sense of connection (as fluffy as that might sound) might help: I buy stuff from a local gaming store (sometimes at twice the cost) because I want to support them, and I know that they're not ripping me off: they simply don't get the same deals as Amazon or Chapters does. I would suggest a webpage where it will list all artists, and then tell you how much money they lose when you pirate a song/album: it could even scan your collection, and tell you how much you've stolen.

I laughed. Assasians Creed's DRM (including server confirmation and about a hundred different codes) was broken in under.... 72 hours? The hackers will always win: DRM just messes up the product for those that actually buy it.

Someone on my team hit me in the shoulder with a slapshot from the point, and the bruise is so bad that it's currently bleeding. And I promised to help friends move tomorrow. Hmmm... preserve shoulder, or keep promise?

Lasagna for dinner:

So, lets turn that statement around. Liberals, who don't trust government at all, want tons of it! That makes sense... The point I'm trying to make is that wikileaks is harming watchdogs everywhere. They just proved that gleaning information from willing government employees is easier than pie. By dumping all information they have with *seemingly* no agenda exposes everything - from the frivolous items to the ones with life or death importance. Clarity and honesty in government is a good goal, but the issue I have is the way they're approaching it. EDIT: Contrast this leak with the example I gave earlier, the pentagon papers. The pentagon papers was good because it stripped out all the frivolous information and just exposed the damning evidence. It had a point, and a purpose. Wikileaks has no point or purpose, except to show exactly how sausage is made (and no one wants to know that). They don't have a purpose! When you provide information with a purpose, we end up with Faux News. I don't need to be told what to think: I want to know what my government is doing in my name.

Don't be fooled by what wikileaks "tried" to do. The fact that the US made the information "CLASSIFIED" means that they didn't want any of it leaked to the public. If the US openly cooperated with wikileaks in further censoring the information they were to leak, what would that mean to you? That posting sensitive information is a legitimate thing to do? Here US government, you can have this olive branch from your olive tree we're about to cut down. So, you're willing to let the government deny you information? Information about actions that they have taken in your name, with your money, and possibly your vote?

Exactly my thought.

I just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon, and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. My little brother was (and currently still is) woefully unaware of the wonders of SF and Fantasy, so I read the Hobbit to him, and I have to say that it was even better the fourth (?) time around. Currently: Mhttp://www.amazon.com/Book-Bush-George-leads-America/dp/0670032735 Within the week (hopefully): http://www.amazon.com/Bartimaeus-Ring-Solomon-Jonathan-Stroud/dp/1423123727

Yes, that doesn't sound elitist at all. - Aside from that, there are already a lot of communities out there: you'd really have to do something interesting to make it worthwhile. It's not elitist at all. Anyone with a vague concept of literature can't really argue they are that well written or contribute to the Canon and the great thing known as literature. But it equally doesn't mean they aren't worth discussing or a good read. You really cannot hold that position in an argument. Primarily, who is offered this immense power to decide what qualifies as literature and what does not? And it will vary from person to person, as well, and is subject to all sorts of strange social ideals and contortions: Shakespeare was seen as a form of low-brow entertainment, whereas today his work is considered the pinnacle of literary form. And in my (and my other people's) opinion, lumping Harry Potter and Twilight into the same category is lunacy: it's like doing the same to Lord of the Rings and... well, Twilight.

Who is giving you grief? o_O And yeah any job right now is pretty much 100% better than being unemployed. LIES! http://www.oddee.com/item_96873.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Dn02bR4pg [hide][/hide] Angela Gossow is a goddess.

Blade Trinity - I know that it's going to disappoint me, but every time the SyFy channel plays it, I just see Snipes kicking vampire butt, and before I know it I've watched it again. Why do the first two never get any airtime?

Iron Army, by In This Moment

Downloading is legal in Canada but only audio recordings for personal use (you must own the original though); doing so by p2p software is illegal because it uploads the files. Bill C-32 and ACTA could make it illegal, in C-32 if there is a DRM on the media then it is illegal to bypass it, it also would introduce a max fine of $5000 for non-commercial infringers. This blog will give much more information. Whether or not it is enforced though, is an entirely different story.