This 'toon is also about privilege, but speaks in terms of class rather than race :

http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/the-pencilsword-on-a-plate

I have two - Charlie Chaplin's 1940 speech from the film "The Great Dictator" :

And Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" :

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/

I did this way back in 1998. Moved from Oklahoma to New Zealand. It's not too difficult to get a job here, and being American is a plus on that front. Downside is the cost of living (think Hawaii prices - everything costs more here than it does in the USA). The 'tyranny of distance' is the best and the worst thing at once. Upside is quality of life, and peace of mind. I've never regretted it.

Didn't. Moved from Oklahoma to NZ in 1998. Best decision evar. AMA.

Grendel : member for: 64 days

galen : member for: 372 days

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

If I'm a baker, should I be forced to make a wedding cake for a black couple? How about for a mixed-race couple?

Is this a different issue? If so, how exactly?

I know I'm asking, not answering - but I think it's worth making the comparison. It wasn't that long ago that these were relevant questions too.

No, I'm not... :-)

In terms of this metaphor, I'd say that "drying the room" means creating an environment in which ignorance is not normal, or acceptable.

As per Asimov's observation :

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.

Ah yes - the best Star Trek film of them all.

I'm fine. No offense to anyone here intended, it's a wonderful online community; but I made a deliberate decision a while back, to avoid hubski and a few other online reading sources that I was a little addicted to, in favour of re-claiming some of my free time for more deliberate reading (i.e real books), and listening to music. Some recent examples are The Expanse books, and "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (both recommended). As far as point two, sadly, I have not had bees for the last two seasons. I may install a swarm this Spring if one presents itself, though. Would be nice to have some girls around the house again. Thanks for asking :-)

Just a few chapters into "Rendezvous with Rama" by A.C. Clarke (I recently enjoyed "Childhood's End" so I thought I'd read a few more of Clarke's better-known works).

So far, it's pretty good, although kinda cringe-worthy when he talks about how distracting women's breasts can be in zero gravity. Nerd :-)

To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize

- Voltaire

I can tell you this (and I am probably one of the ONLY people who can tell you this) :

"E.T." is a MUCH better movie, if you have no idea what ET looks like, or anything about him. I just happened to see that movie before any of the publicity came out. The suspense of the first half hour or so is just GONE, if you know beforehand what he looks like.

My point is, a spoiler doesn't always have to give away a "twist" to change the way you see the movie.

"The Diamond Age" - Neal Stephenson

"The Left Hand of Darkness" - Ursula Le Guin

"Queen of Angels" - Greg Bear

The "V.A.L.I.S." trilogy - Philip K. Dick

The "Illuminatus" trilogy - Robert Anton Wilson / Robert Shea

"The Mote in God's Eye" - Larry Niven / Jerry Pournelle

"The Martian Chronicles" - Ray Bradbury

[edit] I'm adding Harlan Ellison's "Deathbird Stories"; it's a short-story collection, not a novel, but there's some great writing in there.

Several aspects to this. From a personal perspective, the police presence is much less, and much less threatening. Our cop-on-the-beat does not carry a gun, and I think this makes a vast difference in the kind of person attracted to the profession. There's less abject poverty; we have poor people but the number of desperate poor is much less here - and that leads to less crime. We do have a lot of burglaries here, but other minor crimes seem much reduced. Also, a lot fewer handguns in circulation add to the general safety aspect. We have no dangerous animals to speak of as well. We don't have HFCS here at all (unless it's in US imports). We have better health care coverage and leave (full-time employees get 4 weeks minimum by law). Local dairy products, fruits and vegetables are great. Every tiny little place that serves coffee has an espresso machine and makes a great cup - it's hard to find places that serve old-fashioned 'filter coffee' any more. The weather is fantastic. The politicians aren't as corrupt. We have an MMP system for electing representatives that (in my opinion) is superior to yours (first-past-the-post), in that it allows smaller parties to wield real power. Kids here aren't afraid of strangers. I could go on (and I do!)

The reason not to put a number on it is to avoid gamesmanship, as I understand it. Once a post or comment has a full circledot, the game is over - because hubski does not want to emphasise that particular game.

[Must ... resist ... urge ... to share ... pic of Jesus]

Just for fun :

Some real advice : if you get the option, sit in the front of the class. Helps a lot, I found. If you find yourself falling behind, ask for help, early, before it overwhelms you. Do all the work; if the class is really challenging, do the work before it's due, show it to the instructor, and ask if it's what they are looking for.

Makes sense if you look at each column, comparing left and right.

Highest order column = One 9 on left, nine 1's on right.

Next : Two 8's on left, eight 2's on right.

Next : Three 7's on left, seven 3's on right.

etc.

Understood.

Imagine you're a minister from 50 or 100 years ago, and you don't believe you should have to marry a black man to a white woman, on purely religious grounds.

Was that minister right or wrong? In his time, it would not even have been a question, but seen in today's eyes, it's different. What will the world look like in another 100 years?

Who would Jesus allow to get married?

I still don't get why it's okay for the USA to assassinate people in Pakistan in the first place.

You don't really have to lie. People are generally very forgiving, if you're doing the Right Thing - and even if they aren't, no one's going to bother to press any charges, if you are returning the phone on your own initiative. Everyone understands temptation.

Good for you, introspection is not an easy thing to learn.

Black Mirror is good stuff, but be warned - the first episode is a bit disturbing. Worth sticking with it though.

Here's what I get at work (at home it's faster) :

Roofs already have vents to reduce the trapped heat.

This part needs improving, that's all. Sensors and more power.

A solution like that pictured is a recipe for water ingress.

There's a time and a place for everything, and it's called college

-- Chef, from South Park

PG is an otherwise smart guy, but I think he's (deliberately or not) seeing this issue through a startup lens. Seems clear to me that the over-abundance of income inequality is the USA is a direct result of taxation policies favouring the rich, starting with Reagan's trickle-down, and continuing to this day.

You can't end economic inequality without preventing people from getting rich

And this is just unsubstantiated bullshit.

"She who used to be the beautiful heaulmière" by Rodin

Anyone can see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl she used to be. A great artist can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is . . . and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be . . . more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo see that this lovely young girl is still alive, prisoned inside her ruined body. He can make you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew older than eighteen in her heart . . . no matter what the merciless hours have done. Look at her, Ben. Growing old doesn't matter to you and me—but it does to them. Look at her!