>>what? that sucks.. where do you live? >canada i think? If it isn't Canada, it's very similar, because the driving laws around here are pretty restrictive, even though an individual may get a learner's license at age 16, it's about 2 years before they can get a full license (and that's assuming that they pass the tests).
We've got a similar system here. Lots of restrictions for the first 6 months, then after that only a few restrictions (unless you get a ticket), then at 18 it's a regular license.
Here's the best part about striving for diversity. Once everything's all equally diversified, they'll all be the same, and there won't be anything to consider diverse... :icon_rolleyes:
New laws say that the rookie drivers can only drive with senior driver in the car for 2 years. Also, rookie drivers can drive only from 7 AM to 11 PM. Now that's a silly law.
So glad you think it's silly. You know why they have laws like that? Because a select few drivers your age are not responsible, so you get to pay for it. Same for your auto insurance rates. And now you're trying to the same thing with guns, but it's suddenly not as silly to do so.
There hasn't been a significant change yet. AJAX is just a small thing, really. It's still using JavaScript, the only difference is that the web server is involved. It doesn't know the difference between an AJAX request and a regular one. You could still use JS for dynamic content before as well. And with some people still deathly afraid of JS, some sites become entirely unusable for a population of users on the 'net.
Re: PS - yes, the topics of late have been a great improvement :)
That's an interesting use of cat. Anyways, I tried running it, and it worked fine after a small change (you didn't put a / before bin/sh, so working from anywhere other than the / directory would not work).
output:
jimmy@vera ~/code/bash $ ./ispositive 4
4 number is postive
jimmy@vera ~/code/bash $ ./ispositive -4
jimmy@vera ~/code/bash $ ./ispositive 1234567890
1234567890 number is postive
jimmy@vera ~/code/bash $ ./ispositive 0
Usually if you're working on a project in Linux through a command line environment, you likely should be using a Makefile to build your app. If you're not going to use make and similar tools, then you probably should use an IDE for any sizeable project.
> It's can't really replace a desktop application, but you can come decently close in some cases
Wait for a few more years, you would need ot change that statement. Everything looks impossible till its realized... :-)
I don't think so. A web service can't exactly replicate a local application unless we drastically change our web programming technologies. Quick example: editing a local document. For a web app, you have to upload it, then edit it, then download it again. There isn't a way to modifly local files (aside from caches and cookies) through a web based application. And granting that permission opens the door to a ton of malicious uses...
The convenience of global availability of files is one think that a desktop can't provide however. That is one of the reasons why web apps are so popular. If my Thunderbird profile was instantly available on any other computer, I'd probably not want to put up with gmail. Sure it looks nice, has lot of features, but it's slower than a desktop app. How could it be otherwise?
IMHO the only good thing about the Patriot Act was the acronym.
(Not really... I mean, it must have had something else good about it, but there was a lot of crap in there too... reasons to not pass laws when everyone's hysterical and out of control...)
I'm saying if we just left now.. And let the civil war erupt. Let them fight it out, and then choose someone loyal to America that we can get in there as leader.. We've done it so many times before, especially to South American countries and during the cold war.
To do that, we have to support the party we'd be putting in place. We can't let someone win the civil war and then just supplant them with someone else of our choosing. Hell, you've described what we're trying to do, 'cept that we're planting a democratic government instead of a dictator (the last one we put in Iraq kinda backfired).
Ah well, it's pretty normal for threads to go off-topic and launch sub-debates, I've never found a forum that doesn't do that.
True. I find it nice when debates get their own thread though. That way when I'm looking for the socialized medicine discussion, I don't have to remember that it's in the college thread. And it's also to be reading through a long thread and not have two or three pages worth of random side-discussion that doesn't really relate to the main topic.
14 pages., 200 replies (this would make 201) and all we came up with is 14 suggestions. I think that ratio is devastating. Most of the posts here are WAY OFF topic:angry:, so, people, please stick to the topic.
Completely agree. Actually, I've been wondering if it would be possible for mods to split off-topic parts out of threads? They'd have to use some discretion about when it's appropriate and when it's not, but it would help to keep threads a lot more on-topic. Especially in the Geek's Lounge, where we've had a few good threads lately, but one thread will spawn a child topic and people are replying twice on two completely different subjects.
Also, would it be possible to allow nested quotes? I know it's a bit ugly and makes pages really long, but occasionally the extra context is nice (maybe cap it at one nested level?). It also helps when you quote a post that had quoted someone else, since the current format will remove the separation.
We could always send in some discrete CIA task force or somethn to make things right.. we've done it before, why not do it again? I'm all for the government's use of 'inhumane' tactics such as the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo bay.. It's war. If we don't step away from the 'norm' and do something drastic, who knows.. we may all be killed tomorrow. I'd rather they torture people and get vital information than an airplane fly into my house/work/..
Where do you propose that we send the CIA agents? There isn't a centralized target to go after. This is not conventional war. We can't just assassinate some individual who is easily located. We can't just randomly search people's homes. We can't just have people randomly reporting "suspicious" behavior and act on it without some verification; that would just create a huge witch hunt.
Oh, on the subject of socialized health care. I think it's a bad idea. I'm just basing this on my observation of how it's working in Canada. The quality of care up there is so severly lacking from so many accounts that I would hate to have it down here. Where I live is about 200 miles from the border, but there's a lot of Canadians that come even this far for treatment because either the wait is incredibly long up there, or they just can't get the same treatments back home. I also have a cousin who was in an accident at work and she's totally not getting proper care. Maybe that's just a difference between Canadian and American services, but part of it seems to be caused by the system.
But if we help the poor become more educated and therefore lead them out of poverty.. The rest of us become poorer. It all equals out in a capitalist economy.. Who will clean our streets, toilets, and cities if we have no poor people?
That's also requiring the current upper class to retain their position. Even if they do get a degree, they have to put it to use. If they don't, then great, they fill the lower jobs. It seems a bit unfair to have skilled, smart, hardworking people and tell them they can't move up just because they come from a low-income background; similarly, we shouldn't just give people an upper class job because they come from an upper class background either.
Programs like affirmative action are complete bull.. Why should colleges accept less qualified students just b/c they help make the school racially diverse? It's racist! Programs such as affirmative action are unconstitutional and should not be enforced at any college. In fact, I wrote my junior theme about it.. in case someone is interested: http://www.angelfire.com/super2/pedbsktbll/affirmative_Action.htm
Affirmative action is discrimination, period. But since it discriminates against the largest group, some people seem to think that it's a good idea. I totally agree that it's bull. It cracks me up that everyone (around here at least) is an "equal opportunity employer" but they still take "affirmative action information" from their employees (it is voluntary though).
I don't think we should block the poor from going to college. I guess I misrepresented that. The poor who do put forth the effort required should by all means be put through school, even if it requires that they be subsidized somehow. That's why we have competitive scholarships, some of which even target the lower class. By the same token, there are some from the upper class who shouldn't be bogging the system down. Of course, if they can afford it, who will stop them? The schools won't be likely to turn away a mostly reasonable student willing to pay full fare.
AOL Chatty? Beg your pardon? Elaborate.. (<--See Grammer...sort of..o.0..)
AOL chatty being a term to describe the overwhelming use of Internet slang, butchered spelling (e.g. some1 = someone, r = are, u = you, or homophone substitution), and horrible grammatical structures. Dave's point was likely that, in striving to build a professional atmosphere at Daniweb, such [mis-]use of language detracts from the quality of the remaining material, and many people looking for a professional forum find the net-speak to be a huge distraction or impairment.
That "wins" the war by simply removing of the illegality. It still won't do anything for those who use it irresponsibly (if anything, it will enable them more). And with addictive substances, the probability of substance abuse is much greater.
AJAX = using JavaScript to make server requests without reloading a page, then using DHTML to display the results. It's can't really replace a desktop application, but you can come decently close in some cases.
It's not winnable. It hardly fits the definition of a war. To say otherwise would be like claiming that the War on Drugs(TM) is a war. It's not, and you can't win it. You can only try to rectify it.
True, but It's not as bad as Vietnam.. You would think that after six years we would be much more efficient.. I still don't see a purpose to this war.. wtf are we trying to accomplish? Hussein is dead (let's get osama now).. And almost every middle eastern country hates the U.S. We are only angering the people who hate us, and rallying more support for THEM. We should leave right now.. If the government is afraid to admit to a failure, then why not use neutron bombs?:twisted:
It's not as bad as Vietnam because we are that much more efficient. The purpose of this war is not about Saddam anymore. It's about getting the Iraqi government to be self-sufficient. If we backed out now and they all killed each other for a few years, what would happen? They'd probably have some emerging party come out on top with another totalitarian government and then everyone'd look at the US as a nation who would go, stir up trouble, and make everyone else pay for it. At least this way nobody can deny that we're trying to clean up our mess (even if we aren't being particuarly successful). Most of the middle east has hated the US for a long time anyways (since about when Israel was formed). As for Osama, how would you propose that we go after him? We don't know where he is, or even if he's still alive.
well, apparently most Americans consider them a terrorist organization:P
Most loud Americans maybe...
The NRA is a necessary evil. I don't like how they do things, but without their lobbying efforts, we'd likely have some ridiculous half-assed gun control laws that wouldn't work at all.
The whole college thing is kind of messed up IMHO. Mind you, I have a very biased way of looking at things, but I'll try to explain. Also keep in mind that this is based on the US system as I have very little idea how other places work.
First off, college is for furthering education, not something that's required. A high school education should be enough for someone to find a job providing a liveable income (though certainly not a lavish one). There are many jobs that someone needs to do but nobody really wants to. Take waste management; who want's to go around picking up people's garbage? But someone needs to do it. With our (again IMHO) decreasing standards, we've fairly botched this one, so now everyone thinks they should have to go to college. We're at a point where not going to college is a great disadvantage, but a college education was traditionally something for privileged individuals. Now, everyone thinks they have a right to go to college and that the government should pay for it.
That throws people into a predicament of having to pay for college. And of course, if you're going to go to college, you should go to the best college in your field. Private institutions and out-of-state prices leave many students graduating with 100k debt or so. On the other hand, public schools are typically much more affordable. And there are scholarships and grants that help students afford some means …
Why the hell can't the world's best armies quickly take out these damn insurgents.
Because it's nigh impossible to defend against guerrila warfare. You can't tell who the enemy might be. You can't just take people in and interrogate them randomly. It's the absolute worst kind of war to be on the defensive side. Besides which, the insurgents are not specifically targeting military targets. They're going after the populace as well, which makes it even that much more difficult to guess where they'll come from.
You're exactly right. It is, people that hurt people, as you say. I agree completely. But the only thing I was trying to present is the fact that death toll from guns would decrease. I mean, how many times have you heard about accidents where people accidentally shot themselves or accidently shot other people? (I know everyone is going to relate this with a car wreck.) But eliminating cars is just absurd and ridiculous. We simply cannot live without cars. But guns, surely we can.
We can live without cars, but nobody wants to give them up. Most cities have some form of public transport which usually provides a half way decent alternative. I've done that for the last 3 months (although I did just buy another car, it's a great convenience). Some people would not be able to get by without cars; farmers, for example, couldn't manage the same productivity without cars.
By the same token, yes, we could largely do without guns. There are some people who still have legitimate reasons to have them though. Again, farmers often use guns to protect their livestock or crops. Even pistols have a use, an example coming to mind being when people go hiking.
Many of the accidents involving guns happen when people don't respect the guns. I know that's a silly phrase ("respect the guns"), but it's true. Usually it comes about when someone takes a gun (often not even theirs) and points it around like a toy, …
Hey, there weren't many people on here discussing anything, and we just started talking about proxies very briefly. If this is the first time that anyone has ever gone off topic in a thread then shoot us both..
Ouch. Bad phrasing. :P
And yeah, the off-topic was a little much. Maybe swap MSN and you can chat or something? It's not the first time stuff has gone off topic, but the off topic trend runs pretty rampant around here...
I can understand how you might feel. I can't understand your reaction to it.
Well, my point was just the fact that I hate the gun control in this country. And it's hurting innocent people.
It's people that hurt people. Period. Even if we had stricter gun regulation, angry people can still get guns and do this. It's possible to get guns into places that have outlawed them. The problem we have is that a very few people have severe psychological issues, and they're the ones that cause these tragedies. Unfortunately, we have about as good of a chance of eliminating gun crime as we do of preventing these people from commiting heinous crimes (gun based or otherwise). For those of us who are otherwise powerless (and innocent), we need ways to protect ourselves.
Okay, you DON'T know the kind of affect it had over here. I am just minutes away from Blacksburg. I go there a lot. And I'm sorry but there was a guy from right here, where I live, that was shot. So don't be a complete jerk about this situation. Stop being immature and grow up!
I truly am sorry about what happened over there. And I believe I did mention that there was an [obviously smaller] shooting at the school I attend. I was on campus when it happened. No, we didn't have 30 people killed, so our story didn't make the sensationalist national media, so it hardly gets attention outside of local media. That was the second gun related crime incident in about a month and a half here (the other being armed robbery, nobody was hurt), not to mention another shooting that occured last spring (those are the incidents I remember at least). And I'm just talking about stuff within 3 blocks of my school and where I live. Don't tell me to be mature about it, don't tell me to grow up, and don't tell me that I don't know what it's like to be that close to a shooting.
My point was that just because you've been shaken up by an incident (very understandable), doesn't mean that you suddenly have the power to affect the rights of others. And I'm certainly not going to forfeit my right to defend myself with the best means …
Your code really needs to be indented for readability purposes.
Anyways, global identifiers are typically considered bad style. They still work, but if you can come up with a solution without globals, then you should do that. And since you return the user's choice anyways, why do you need to keep it in a global variable?
I have a negative attitude about it because this thread is about the "Shooting at Virginia Tech," hasn't anyone read the title? It's about the biggest massacre to ever take place in U.S. history. Haven't you watched "Bowling For Columbine?" - that would definitely make everyone here look ignorant.
Haven't seen it. I've seen other productions by Moore and he's full of crap. Some of the parts from Bowling puts most comedians to shame.
If "banning things I don't like" means banning the ownership of guns because people's lives are at stake, then yes. I feel that way, and that's my opinion about it. If "controlling their lives" means controlling the amount of murders in this country, then yes. I also feel that way. And "put them at the mercy of whomever wants to harm them," that statement isn't even relevant. There wouldn't be as much fear if there was gun control or rather, no guns at all.
I was in a car accident about 3.5 months ago. T-boned on my driver door. I now am actually rather afraid when I'm driving. Using your logic, we should ban cars. Lives are at stake, and people are afraid. And I'm a lot more scared of traffic than I am of random gun incidents.
It's not always about the 2nd Amendment.
No, but an implication of allowing gun ownership is to allow people another methody by which to defend their right to life when someone does flip out.
On the gun issue that seems to be the flotation device of this thread, I think they should make bullets extremely exspensive for firearms used for other than hunting i.e. handguns, semi-auto handguns/rifles, and of course fully automatic firearms. Atleast that way anyone looking to harm of this nature (god forbid, it NEVER happens on this scale again) would have a lot harder time trying to conceal a hunting rifle.
Aside from the people who have legitimate uses for ammo, that idea is almost workable. The only problem is ammo sizes where a rifle and a pistol use the same size. A .22 comes to mind, though I'm sure there are many others.
[edit:] And another thought: people can still roll their own when it comes to ammo. Reloading equipment runs at a couple hundred bucks IIRC, but it's even cheaper in the long run (again, for legitimate uses... else there wouldn't be much of a long run)
It's pretty obvious that the current powers-that-be will be replaced during the next cycle. I just worry about the backlash that'll follow and how their successors will clean up the mess.
Anyhow on the REAL subject at hand. To the response on if they knew why he did it. Authorities said he left a note in his dorm explaining why he did what he did, quoting that the letter said "you guys made me do this."
Ah, he realized the best way to commit a crime: make it someone else's fault. Why can't people be responsible for their own lives and actions anymore?
This was a very disturbed individual, enough so that fellow student stated that they didn't feel safe in the same class with him. One of his instructors even went to the extent of reporting her concern for his potential for violence. Plays that he had written were full of violence. This basically was a violent action looking for a place to happen.
I read somewhere that he'd been referred to a counselor as well. At least they tried to do something, but apparently they didn't catch it in time or didn't try hard enough.
Another means of taking lives mentioned was the use of bombs. In 1997 Congress voted 94-0 to add an amendment to a Department of Defense spending bill to prohibit the distribution of bomb-making instructions, but there are still copies of books such as The Anarchist Cookbook to be found. There are even web sites that will describe the materials and instructions for building a fertilizer bomb.
In 1997, the government dreamed it could control the Internet. It still does, but everyone else knows better. Unless they implement a national filter, which would cause yet another uproar.
Figured we ought to split this out of the VT shooting thread. Here's some posts that have already been made (and if a mod can move others, that'd be great). Hopefully I got them all in the right order... (and hopefully the thread isn't a dupe... but I couldn't remember one like it)
really? Wow... Yea, Bush is a damned idiot.. I have no frikn clue how that man was elected twice by the American public! He's a complete dumbass! ...And this is coming from Republican. I dunno what yall think, but in '08 the dems are taking over
Unfortunately, Bush did mismanage quite a few things. On the one hand, I'll openly admit that. On the other, I worry what would happen if we'd had some pussyfooted democrat in office with a Republican congress. As we can already see with the Iraq legislation, things just aren't getting done like they used to. And I don't agree with lots of the typical Dem platform, so I'll be freaking when they have both the executive and legistlative branches again. And I'll be looking to move if the Clinton dynasty returns... (I would totally vote for Obama if it came to that)
I know, its typical that the dems have a woman and a black dude as candidates. I think I'll vote for Obama too... I've looked at his platform, and he tends to be rather neutral. He's very intelligent too... I doubt America is ready for a woman presidesnt …
<snip about rural areas and hunting> My point here is that this is the only practical application for owning a gun...unless you intend on shooting someone.
There's also a sport element to target shooting. I for one find that to be fun and a lot more convenient than waiting for hunting season.
Perhaps requiring a certificate of completion from a gun safety course would be good requirement for anyone who wants to purchase a firearm, then again licensed teens are killing themselves and others street racing.
Good points, and I agree about the safety course. Youngsters (age < 21 I think) around here have to take one before they can purchase a hunting license, but after the course they are also allowed to own a gun IIRC (not purchase though). Of course, the class focuses on hunting stuff mainly, but at least there's some effort to promote gun awareness.
The argument that we should abolish ownership of firearms is a moot point, it just isn't going to happen. If you looks at the statistics 38% of households in the US won firearms. Of those the total amount of firearms is large enough to provide a firearm for every person in the US. These statistics come from a study done in 2004 and is base on registered firearms, lord knows how many other firearms there are out there.
Also good points. Our nation has a unique culture with a do-it-yourself aspect, and we demand a right to protect us …
I know, its typical that the dems have a woman and a black dude as candidates. I think I'll vote for Obama too... I've looked at his platform, and he tends to be rather neutral. He's very intelligent too... I doubt America is ready for a woman presidesnt yet.
Hopefully the dems will offer America a change for the better b/c the republicans sure didn't do very well
I envision the Dems taking two approaches, one for each of their candidates (sorry, anyone but the big 2 are out):
Obama: A platform based on moderation, probably with a spin on regaining stability. Obama doesn't seem to even want to play the race card, which I find to be very respectable in and of itself. I find this idea most agreeable, possibly more than the Republican platforms (which I've not heard much discussion about), and I'm typically fairly conservative.
Clinton: a more radical "turn everything around" platform, and she probably will use the gender issue at some point. I sincerely hope she doesn't get office because I think she's too extreme for where the country is at the moment. Too much whiplash would only lead to the country hurting more than it is. Also, it would make some 24 years of Clinton+Bush family dynasties, and some fresh blood would be good at this point.
I wish the Republicans had someone who could compete with either of these, but I doubt that'll happen. Pretty sad, having only a 1 …
damn.. That's crazy.. was everyone else alright? I dunno, I just don't understand why some1 would get that upset that he/she would go off on a shooting rampage.. I mean sure, life's a B***h sometimes.. but why end it all?
Fortunately our incident was only the one victim and the perpetrator. It happened in one of the offices so nobody else was very close by. Really puts things into perspective though, when an innocent person being murdered is considered a "fortunate" event :angry:
really? Wow... Yea, Bush is a damned idiot.. I have no frikn clue how that man was elected twice by the American public! He's a complete dumbass! ...And this is coming from Republican. I dunno what yall think, but in '08 the dems are taking over
Unfortunately, Bush did mismanage quite a few things. On the one hand, I'll openly admit that. On the other, I worry what would happen if we'd had some pussyfooted democrat in office with a Republican congress. As we can already see with the Iraq legislation, things just aren't getting done like they used to. And I don't agree with lots of the typical Dem platform, so I'll be freaking when they have both the executive and legistlative branches again. And I'll be looking to move if the Clinton dynasty returns... (I would totally vote for Obama if it came to that)
yea, but It's much easer to walk to a store and simply buy a gun.. But, if guns were illegal, who's to say the guy wouldn't just make a couple of bombs and kill a lot more people?
I'd say it's easier to buy some household chemicals and mix them up a li'l. I'm not a chemist though, and detonators would likely be the hardest part. Buying a gun will often (if not always) involve some paperwork and a background check. And a bomb could be much more discrete. Most of these people who commit crimes like this one save a bullet for themselves; they obviously have issues. If only we could catch those issues before they happened. We had a shooting here at my school two weeks ago where some jerk (it censored the first word I put :icon_redface:) killed his ex, then himself. The gal had already gotten a court protection order, but obviously the law can't stop a determined psycho.
True. But it's also much easier to purchase a gun... then to make a bomb.
Is it? Have you looked into making explosives before? There's probably a long list of explosive mixtures that can be made from common, cheap stuff. A little creativity and I'm sure one could come up with something...
