Posts by EnderX

Statistically, what is the probability that poor students will do well in school? Most poor kids are not intelligent, and care nothing about education. They are not to blame.. More than likely, they grew up in a bad atmosphere by parents who did not care about education, and so quite naturally the children did not find education essential.
And so, the people of low class are stuck in society... Exactly as the way it should be, so that the rest of us can enjoy at least moderate wealth.

Does the term 'Zero-Sum Game' sound familiar? I'm fairly sure that education doesn't qualify.
And I think you're mixing the ideas of intelligence (or the lack thereof) and willful ignorance together. Intelligence is the ability to comprehend things; last I checked, it's not limited to only one social group or structure. However, some social microcultures do not prize intelligence, leading to a condition of willful ignorance: Those who posess intelligence attempt to hide it, and actually act less intelligent than they are, in order to fit into their surroundings. And after a while, this habit of willful ignorance becoems ingrained enough that it not only obscures but actually mars the individual's intelligence. Intelligence is a gift, but also a talent; it has to be honed or it will decay.

I can't believe they made as many as they have. They're up to twelve now plus X-2 (a sequel to a sequel). On top of that they have Chronicles, I think one that's just called chocobo racing and a few others that aren't actually numbered in the series.

Which ones are you referring to with that? I don't really know anything about the various Chocobo-related ones, but I do know that the games released several years (if I recall correctly, over a decade) back for the Game Boy system weren't really Final Fantasy games. The FF Legends series were more closely related to the Squaresoft/Square-Enix SaGa games, while Final Fantasy Adventure was the first Seiken Densetsu (_____ of Mana) game. The stuff I've read on it implies that the only reason they bore the FF name was for brand recognition within the US.

The Supreme Court does not want to rule on issues like this because it sets a precedent from which there is no return. A good example is Michael Newdow's attempt to have the words Under God and In God We Trust removed from the pledge of allegiance and our currency, if they decide on this it will have serious effects either way it goes. On the one hand it could make this a conflict with our constitution regarding the separation of God and state. On the other hand if it went the other way it could mean the removal of the word God from most every thing in public.

Want a good chuckle? Check out Dumb Laws. Now here are some law that need changing!

Exactly where in the Constitution is the separation of God and state, or even church and state, mentioned? The only thing I can specifically come up with is the First Amendment, which simply states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" regarding the topic. The major mention of this kind of separation is usually drawn from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a group of churchmen as an explanation of why the Government wouldn't act to shut down a specific branch of the church. (I think the clergy in question actually wanted the government to act in this case, but I can't recall offhand.)

I'll have to check out those laws at some …

trencher

I don't recall the exact law offhand, but from what I've read, in the United States, any 'Affirmative Action' process that actually does use the ethnicity of a candidate for a position (school, job, or other) is in violation of the very law which supposedly supports them. The purpose of the law was to ensure that NO ONE got any special privileges. And I vaguely recall reading that, when said law was passed, there were arguments about whether or not it would be used to create just such a 'racial quota' system as we have today.
Naturally, the politicians passing the law said <paraphrase>"Oh, no, that will never happen!"</paraphrase>

And while the 'diversity' issue is getting played out, consider the question of what kind of diversity is valued, and what kinds aren't. For example, picture the reaction of most (US) college instructors in anything from Political Science to English Literature if you were to try taking the traditional 'conservative' ideological stance in their presence...especially in their classes. Is biological diversity (ethnicity or gender) worth anything if it's accompanied by an ideological homogeneity?

fang

flan

Actually, what DCC was referring to may have been the following cases-information again drawn from the Firearm Law page of Wikipedia.

1. 1905, Salina v. Blaksley. Ruling was issued by the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, rather than SCOTUS.
2. 1977, United States v. Oakes. In an echo of the Miller decision of nearly four decades earlier, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (CoA) ruled that the Second Amendment did not, in fact, apply to the defendant's machinegun, even though the individual himself was a member of a militia organization.
3. 2001, United States v. Haney. The Tenth Circuit CoA declares that the Second Amendment does not apply, as it does not affect the State's ability to maintain a militia.
4. 2002, Silveira v. Lockyer. The infamous Ninth Circuit CoA declares that the Second Amendment does not apply to individuals.

It should be noted, however, that in 2001, United States v. Emerson, the Fifth Circuit CoA upheld the Second Amendment rights as belonging to the individual, as apparently did the District of Columbia Circuit CoA in 2007, Parker, et al. v. District of Columbia.

Please forgive me for dredging up older parts of the conversation from previous pages, but this is my first chance to be able to respond to them; I tend not to visit Daniweb at all hours.

the NRA is stupid. they went to columbine town the same week of the shooting to promote guns... I have no respect anyone who would belong to the NRA. period

1. I vaguely remember hearing about that incident; I believe the actual NRA meeting was in fact on the eleventh day after the shooting occured. I'm not totally certain about that date, though.
The NRA meeting in Columbine was a pre-scheduled event, and I believe an annual one. Its time slot was decided far in advance of the actual date. It is my understanding that, under the NRA's bylaws, and possibly the state laws they were founded under (can't recall offhand which state that would be), they were required to give a ten-day notice to all members before any change of venue. This basically means that every member, across the United States, would have had to have been notified that day in order for them to cancel or reschedule that event. Given that, I find it difficult to believe that it would have been possible for them to do so. And if you are correct, and the event was, in fact, within a week of the shooting, then it would have been physically impossible for the NRA to have rescheduled in time, unless …

mice

scree

joyously

coptic

rodent

lunge

durance

I'm trying to figure out how to work with an operating system called GS-DOS. (Full name appears to be 'General Software Embedded[v2]'). It is being used in a handheld barcode scanner I have been asked to work with, in the hopes that I can figure out how to program it. I have no real experience with any DOS platform, but I have noticed that not all of the DOS commands I've seen online will work with this particular DOS setup.

Google searches on the full name turn up nothing, and searches on the GS-DOS extension merely wish to know if I meant 'MS-DOS' instead.
Does anyone know where I could find some kind of tutorial or instructional guide to dealing with GS-DOS?

redux

rile

hostler

reticle

[Sorry, double post not intended.]

"Warning: Printer not compatible with all
publicly available mouse systems."

grackle

something naturally accuring that we use as jewlery or decoration?

Close enough, I guess.

The common thread was that they are all 'Living Gems', gem-grade materials (which would flow into the jewelry/decoration side) with biological origins.

Tossup as to who claims next...and sorry for overloading the thread for so long.

I'd say Picard, simply because he appears to act more like a ship's commanding officer would act in reality. (Diplomat, good at delegating responsibility, etc.)

Heh.
Okay, now you're thinking a bit too much. I promise, the original idea was nowhere near that complex. Although I would presume that's part of the purpose of a good riddle, to make one think.

And @JBennet: No, Ivory isn't the common bond. It is, however, another example of a substance that bears the same attributes. If I'd remembered it in time, I'd have included it in with the other four.

You are correct for number three, JBarry. The first description I found for Jet some time back called it 'gem-grade coal', which kind of caught my attention.

And now, knowing that the answers are Amber, Coral, Jet, and Pearl, the answer to the final riddle should become apparent. Anybody willing to take a shot at it?

Both, but not by much.

kinda a stretch......... but i might be persuaded to think that the third riddle actually refers to coal or other fossil fuels...........originally they where plants that required light to grown, but now they are black as night.........wood for example could be in fossil fuels that grew where the ocean was in prehistoric times and now is in some of the oil we mine in our offshore wells

that would mean that the overall would have something to do with Ancient life, things that where once something else or are no longer.

Extremely close, but not quite there. Dig a bit deeper using your current line of reasoning.

@JBarry:
You are correct for Riddles 1, 2, and 4. Sadly, the answer to Riddle 3 is not ebony. Still, a good attempt. And thank you for the numbering; I suspected what you were associating each one with, but I wanted to make certain.

What I gather in the first riddle leads me to believe it is amber. It comes in various colors, mainly represented as a golden substance, was known in ancient times, was believed through the ages to hold mysterious powers, was considered valuable, is a solidified form of a sap of a type of conifer, and has been discovered by many to have within its recovered pieces the remains of different bugs that became subsequently imprisoned--- extinct, ancient bugs.

A perfect amount of reasoning, covering everything I was thinking of when formulating the riddle.

The second riddle leads me to believe coral is involved. Not a plant, but an animal, each part is very small and beautiful; but, gathered together, coral can form some of the most treacherous and sharp reefs known.

Again, excellent reasoning. A few additional bits of trivia: The actual coral polyp (yes, that's what they're called) looks like a miniature sea anemone, and thus, quite flowerlike. And not just treacherous and sharp, but huge also...Australia's Great Barrier Reef was what I had in mind when I wrote that line. Hard to believe something so small can create something so big, huh?

The fourth appears to be pearl. This, too, …

@JBarry:
Sorry, no map, and last I checked, no treasure chest either. You are on the right track otherwise, though...please number your answers.

@Esilver:
You're thinking of the opium poppy, however. What you said about it was true, but that's not the answer. Sorry, no drugs involved.
On the overall, you're close, but not quite there.

Gladly.

I'd like to try something a bit different, though. I've got a set of related riddles I'd like to toss out this time around, where the final answer to the whole depends on the answers of the earlier being known.

Mattyd, if this violates the spirit of the rules you set, I am willing to forfeit my turn in favor of someone else.

Now, on to the riddles.

Riddle the first:
Of rainbow hue, though often gold,
an ancient story, rarely told.
Formed by wood, made thick and thin,
a hidden secret lies within.

Riddle the second:
Though not a plant, this tiny flower,
lies within its watery bower.
As solo forms, each is small,
yet walls they build exceeding tall.

Riddle the third:
In original making it needed the light,
its final formation is black as the night.
Ancient formation, of wood under sea,
what could this strange mystery be?

Riddle the fourth:
Though held for last, I'm by no means the least,
Great riches I yield unto those in the East.
Strange it does sound, and strange it may be,
my mother, in fact, was named after me!

Overall riddle -
What bond, what thread, what common strings,
link these strange and wondrous things?

Happy solving.

oooh--- almost forgot--- What has eighteen legs and catches flies? lol.

A baseball team.

tech phone calls are genius

Not from what I've seen...usually the reverse. Think about it...

That IS an old one... Is anybody here acquainted with The Sphinx?

Not personally, although I do recall something about an abusive personality...

[According to legend, when the Sphinx's victims couldn't solve the riddle she posed, she killed them. And, of course, when it did get solved, she killed herself.]

Anyway, please excuse the interruption. Carry on with the riddling.

No to all so far, although some responses are beating around the edge of it.

words?

Sorry, no.

I bear meaning within meaning within meaning.

Some use me for amusement. For others, to
learn more of me may be the difference
between life and death.

I am ancient, and yet often newly-born.

My secrets may be revealed not to the
strong, or the swift, or to the brave,
but to those who posses wisdom or
cunning will I make myself known.

And I dwell close to you, much closer
than you would think.

Who am I?

It's a quarter and a nickel. The quarter's the one that can't be a nickel...he never said that both of them couldn't be.

Actually, Infarction is right. Snowflakes are always hexagonal in shape, meaning they are constantly connected with the number six.

Your go, Infarction.

By myself I have a most delicate form,
in numbers I usher a fierce raging storm.

Though no color I bear, by day or by night,
everyone thinks that I'm pure, pristine white.

And finally, in one of my most famous tricks,
I'm always connected with the number six!

Who am I?

@jbennet:
I want to say the answer is a Shadow, am I correct?

why is the # key called the pound key?

i call it the hash key as thats what telephone voicemail services tell you it is.

I'm in America. Every time I've heard that particular emblem referenced, especially in telephone situations, it's been called the pound key. Only reason I can come up with is because people used to pound on it, and that's my own guess, not anything even remotely likely. I've never heard it called the hash key before.

Of course, in the case of that keyboard, the real pound key is the Shift+3 combination, right?

I have been requested to recycle an older program, written before I arrived, which is used to send information to a business client's ftp setup. As far as I can tell, the actual transaction is in a segment of code which calls and uses the LWP::UserAgent class. I do not know Perl as yet, and would like to find out as much as I can about the class and how to use it, preferably before I attempt to redesign the program, which is now supposed to be handling a new set of files.

I have found some stuff regarding LWP::UserAgent while searching the 'net, but at the moment, what I've come up with is mostly definitions for it. Does anyone know of a "beginner's guide" or something similar to help someone unfamiliar with the class walk through using it? And if such a guide does exist, would someone please post a link to it?

Thank you for your consideration.

i think the backtick is called the tilde. dont have a clue about the other ones, you only ever really need them for command line stuff

A titlde is produced by the same key as the backtick by holding down the SHIFT key.

The tilde is a separate symbol, used in spanish and possibly other languages as a variant of accent marker (spanish features two versions of the letter n, with somewhat different pronunciations, where one of the two is a normal 'n', and the other has a tilde on top), in mathematics as a symbol meaning 'roughly equal to' or 'approximately', and in ~s.o.s~'s name as beginning and end points.

And on that keyboard, the tilde key isn't in its usual spot; it's sharing a key with the pound symbol (#) next to the enter key.

I recognize the backtick (I think that's what it's called; slanting apostrophe?) on the key next to the one; what are the other two symbols?

And how come the 4 key ended up holding an extra symbol (beyond normal shift-set) while none of the other numeric keys have done so? (I'm assuming that's the Euro symbol; is this correct?)

Correct to Infarction.
Your go.

Again, incorrect to both.

tv?

Sorry, wrong on both counts.