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Askville: Assassination
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:54 pmThis topic bothers me, but I have a hard time not replying to this sort of question.
"Do you approve of our government using predator aircraft to strike at terrorist targets?"
Oh hell, I assume that this is political.
( Read more... )
"Do you approve of our government using predator aircraft to strike at terrorist targets?"
Oh hell, I assume that this is political.
( Read more... )
Askville: Assassination
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:54 pmThis topic bothers me, but I have a hard time not replying to this sort of question.
"Do you approve of our government using predator aircraft to strike at terrorist targets?"
Oh hell, I assume that this is political.
( Read more... )
"Do you approve of our government using predator aircraft to strike at terrorist targets?"
Oh hell, I assume that this is political.
( Read more... )
Askville: Spelling & Grammar
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:51 pmThis question was obviously inspired by the "lovee" question I wrote about a minute ago.
"Is anyone else concerned with how today's youth can't spell and don't know grammar or simple capitalization/punctuation?"
The problem is our educational system and our culture. Television bears a large share of the blame, for sure. So do parents...and, I suspect, the popularity of divorce (although I think that's probably a reflection of the decay of our culture as a whole).
America has been a bastion of anti-intellectualism for many decades now. That's ironic, when you consider that we were founded by intellectuals - brilliant men, all of them.
As far as eduction goes, I suspect that a key element of the problem is school funding. It's profoundly unfair for school funding to be based on local property taxes, as it so often is. It virtually guarantees that the children of the poor will receive inferior educations, and that goes against the whole idea of fairness in America. True, an exceptional teacher or administrator can sometimes provide a great education to students even with very few resources - but that's the exception, not the rule.
Level funding for all schools should be mandatory, and it should NOT be based on the wealth of the specific community. Every American should receive the best education possible.
I have to admit that on World of Warcraft, it bugs me when almost everyone uses textspeak. Even things like saying "grats" instead of "Congratulations!" annoy me. So I make a particular effort to use proper English.
Of course, that sometimes means that I stand there and let my companions get killed while I'm typing...no, I'm kidding, I wait for the right moment and I type pretty fast.
"Is anyone else concerned with how today's youth can't spell and don't know grammar or simple capitalization/punctuation?"
The problem is our educational system and our culture. Television bears a large share of the blame, for sure. So do parents...and, I suspect, the popularity of divorce (although I think that's probably a reflection of the decay of our culture as a whole).
America has been a bastion of anti-intellectualism for many decades now. That's ironic, when you consider that we were founded by intellectuals - brilliant men, all of them.
As far as eduction goes, I suspect that a key element of the problem is school funding. It's profoundly unfair for school funding to be based on local property taxes, as it so often is. It virtually guarantees that the children of the poor will receive inferior educations, and that goes against the whole idea of fairness in America. True, an exceptional teacher or administrator can sometimes provide a great education to students even with very few resources - but that's the exception, not the rule.
Level funding for all schools should be mandatory, and it should NOT be based on the wealth of the specific community. Every American should receive the best education possible.
I have to admit that on World of Warcraft, it bugs me when almost everyone uses textspeak. Even things like saying "grats" instead of "Congratulations!" annoy me. So I make a particular effort to use proper English.
Of course, that sometimes means that I stand there and let my companions get killed while I'm typing...no, I'm kidding, I wait for the right moment and I type pretty fast.
Askville: Spelling & Grammar
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:51 pmThis question was obviously inspired by the "lovee" question I wrote about a minute ago.
"Is anyone else concerned with how today's youth can't spell and don't know grammar or simple capitalization/punctuation?"
The problem is our educational system and our culture. Television bears a large share of the blame, for sure. So do parents...and, I suspect, the popularity of divorce (although I think that's probably a reflection of the decay of our culture as a whole).
America has been a bastion of anti-intellectualism for many decades now. That's ironic, when you consider that we were founded by intellectuals - brilliant men, all of them.
As far as eduction goes, I suspect that a key element of the problem is school funding. It's profoundly unfair for school funding to be based on local property taxes, as it so often is. It virtually guarantees that the children of the poor will receive inferior educations, and that goes against the whole idea of fairness in America. True, an exceptional teacher or administrator can sometimes provide a great education to students even with very few resources - but that's the exception, not the rule.
Level funding for all schools should be mandatory, and it should NOT be based on the wealth of the specific community. Every American should receive the best education possible.
I have to admit that on World of Warcraft, it bugs me when almost everyone uses textspeak. Even things like saying "grats" instead of "Congratulations!" annoy me. So I make a particular effort to use proper English.
Of course, that sometimes means that I stand there and let my companions get killed while I'm typing...no, I'm kidding, I wait for the right moment and I type pretty fast.
"Is anyone else concerned with how today's youth can't spell and don't know grammar or simple capitalization/punctuation?"
The problem is our educational system and our culture. Television bears a large share of the blame, for sure. So do parents...and, I suspect, the popularity of divorce (although I think that's probably a reflection of the decay of our culture as a whole).
America has been a bastion of anti-intellectualism for many decades now. That's ironic, when you consider that we were founded by intellectuals - brilliant men, all of them.
As far as eduction goes, I suspect that a key element of the problem is school funding. It's profoundly unfair for school funding to be based on local property taxes, as it so often is. It virtually guarantees that the children of the poor will receive inferior educations, and that goes against the whole idea of fairness in America. True, an exceptional teacher or administrator can sometimes provide a great education to students even with very few resources - but that's the exception, not the rule.
Level funding for all schools should be mandatory, and it should NOT be based on the wealth of the specific community. Every American should receive the best education possible.
I have to admit that on World of Warcraft, it bugs me when almost everyone uses textspeak. Even things like saying "grats" instead of "Congratulations!" annoy me. So I make a particular effort to use proper English.
Of course, that sometimes means that I stand there and let my companions get killed while I'm typing...no, I'm kidding, I wait for the right moment and I type pretty fast.
Askville: "why doesz lovee huuurt?"
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:46 pmSomeone asked "why doesz lovee huuurt?". Oh, hell, I'm going to post their entire question because the spelling is so insane:
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Askville: "why doesz lovee huuurt?"
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:46 pmSomeone asked "why doesz lovee huuurt?". Oh, hell, I'm going to post their entire question because the spelling is so insane:
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Askville: Re-reading
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:37 pmSomeone asked "What is the last book you RE-read?"
I re-read all the time. I'm currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring out loud to my son. It's around the 40th time I've read it, but it's the first time I've read it aloud.
I re-read The Lord of the Rings more than any other book, perhaps twice a year. Every time I get something new out of it. I consider myself very lucky in that I can re-read my favorites and enjoy them just as much as the first time, if not more!
Others that I re-read often include Kim by Rudyard Kipling, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, I, Claudius by Robert Graves, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and Shogun by James Clavell. Among many, many others. I re-read them every six to twelve months. I generally save Shogun for long trips, because it's so huge.
The most recent non-favorites I've re-read were The Still Small Voice of Trumpets by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., and The Escape Orbit by James White. It's been at least three years since I'd read either. I liked The Still Small Voice of Trumpets very much; Biggle brought art and culture to science fiction, and that's very refreshing. The Escape Orbit strikes me as one of White's lesser (and probably earlier) works, but it's still enjoyable, entertaining, and thought-provoking.
I re-read all the time. I'm currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring out loud to my son. It's around the 40th time I've read it, but it's the first time I've read it aloud.
I re-read The Lord of the Rings more than any other book, perhaps twice a year. Every time I get something new out of it. I consider myself very lucky in that I can re-read my favorites and enjoy them just as much as the first time, if not more!
Others that I re-read often include Kim by Rudyard Kipling, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, I, Claudius by Robert Graves, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and Shogun by James Clavell. Among many, many others. I re-read them every six to twelve months. I generally save Shogun for long trips, because it's so huge.
The most recent non-favorites I've re-read were The Still Small Voice of Trumpets by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., and The Escape Orbit by James White. It's been at least three years since I'd read either. I liked The Still Small Voice of Trumpets very much; Biggle brought art and culture to science fiction, and that's very refreshing. The Escape Orbit strikes me as one of White's lesser (and probably earlier) works, but it's still enjoyable, entertaining, and thought-provoking.
Askville: Re-reading
Oct. 20th, 2009 01:37 pmSomeone asked "What is the last book you RE-read?"
I re-read all the time. I'm currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring out loud to my son. It's around the 40th time I've read it, but it's the first time I've read it aloud.
I re-read The Lord of the Rings more than any other book, perhaps twice a year. Every time I get something new out of it. I consider myself very lucky in that I can re-read my favorites and enjoy them just as much as the first time, if not more!
Others that I re-read often include Kim by Rudyard Kipling, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, I, Claudius by Robert Graves, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and Shogun by James Clavell. Among many, many others. I re-read them every six to twelve months. I generally save Shogun for long trips, because it's so huge.
The most recent non-favorites I've re-read were The Still Small Voice of Trumpets by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., and The Escape Orbit by James White. It's been at least three years since I'd read either. I liked The Still Small Voice of Trumpets very much; Biggle brought art and culture to science fiction, and that's very refreshing. The Escape Orbit strikes me as one of White's lesser (and probably earlier) works, but it's still enjoyable, entertaining, and thought-provoking.
I re-read all the time. I'm currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring out loud to my son. It's around the 40th time I've read it, but it's the first time I've read it aloud.
I re-read The Lord of the Rings more than any other book, perhaps twice a year. Every time I get something new out of it. I consider myself very lucky in that I can re-read my favorites and enjoy them just as much as the first time, if not more!
Others that I re-read often include Kim by Rudyard Kipling, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, I, Claudius by Robert Graves, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and Shogun by James Clavell. Among many, many others. I re-read them every six to twelve months. I generally save Shogun for long trips, because it's so huge.
The most recent non-favorites I've re-read were The Still Small Voice of Trumpets by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., and The Escape Orbit by James White. It's been at least three years since I'd read either. I liked The Still Small Voice of Trumpets very much; Biggle brought art and culture to science fiction, and that's very refreshing. The Escape Orbit strikes me as one of White's lesser (and probably earlier) works, but it's still enjoyable, entertaining, and thought-provoking.
Askville: Usury
Oct. 19th, 2009 11:59 amI suppose this could be considered political, so ( on with the political chastity belt again! (Read more) )
You think 79% is high? The effective annual interest on many payday-loan-store loans is over 800%.
You think 79% is high? The effective annual interest on many payday-loan-store loans is over 800%.
Askville: Usury
Oct. 19th, 2009 11:59 amI suppose this could be considered political, so ( on with the political chastity belt again! (Read more) )
You think 79% is high? The effective annual interest on many payday-loan-store loans is over 800%.
You think 79% is high? The effective annual interest on many payday-loan-store loans is over 800%.
Askville: interaction
Oct. 19th, 2009 11:54 amA rare non-political question on Askville. I asked it myself.
"Should the Askville Team have a regular weekly DB to discuss the state of the site with Askville users?"
Would that be a good thing for the site?
Regularly, once a week, one or more members of the Askville team could ask a question (maybe "How's it going?") and interact with Askville users in the DB. It wouldn't be a complaint forum as much as a chance for Askville users and the team to stay in direct communication and assess how things are going for the site in general. As it stands, management and users don't seem to interact very much!
More communication might also help avoid unpleasant surprises like the Askville 17 Massacre.
What do you think?
I agree that large-scale involvement in "problem" DBs by the Team would be ideal. But that would probably require more of a commitment from them than they are willing (or perhaps able) to give. A once-a-week chance to interact is about the most I think we can hope for. And who knows? If it goes well, it might encourage the Team to slowly expand their involvement with the community!
"Should the Askville Team have a regular weekly DB to discuss the state of the site with Askville users?"
Would that be a good thing for the site?
Regularly, once a week, one or more members of the Askville team could ask a question (maybe "How's it going?") and interact with Askville users in the DB. It wouldn't be a complaint forum as much as a chance for Askville users and the team to stay in direct communication and assess how things are going for the site in general. As it stands, management and users don't seem to interact very much!
More communication might also help avoid unpleasant surprises like the Askville 17 Massacre.
What do you think?
I agree that large-scale involvement in "problem" DBs by the Team would be ideal. But that would probably require more of a commitment from them than they are willing (or perhaps able) to give. A once-a-week chance to interact is about the most I think we can hope for. And who knows? If it goes well, it might encourage the Team to slowly expand their involvement with the community!
Askville: interaction
Oct. 19th, 2009 11:54 amA rare non-political question on Askville. I asked it myself.
"Should the Askville Team have a regular weekly DB to discuss the state of the site with Askville users?"
Would that be a good thing for the site?
Regularly, once a week, one or more members of the Askville team could ask a question (maybe "How's it going?") and interact with Askville users in the DB. It wouldn't be a complaint forum as much as a chance for Askville users and the team to stay in direct communication and assess how things are going for the site in general. As it stands, management and users don't seem to interact very much!
More communication might also help avoid unpleasant surprises like the Askville 17 Massacre.
What do you think?
I agree that large-scale involvement in "problem" DBs by the Team would be ideal. But that would probably require more of a commitment from them than they are willing (or perhaps able) to give. A once-a-week chance to interact is about the most I think we can hope for. And who knows? If it goes well, it might encourage the Team to slowly expand their involvement with the community!
"Should the Askville Team have a regular weekly DB to discuss the state of the site with Askville users?"
Would that be a good thing for the site?
Regularly, once a week, one or more members of the Askville team could ask a question (maybe "How's it going?") and interact with Askville users in the DB. It wouldn't be a complaint forum as much as a chance for Askville users and the team to stay in direct communication and assess how things are going for the site in general. As it stands, management and users don't seem to interact very much!
More communication might also help avoid unpleasant surprises like the Askville 17 Massacre.
What do you think?
I agree that large-scale involvement in "problem" DBs by the Team would be ideal. But that would probably require more of a commitment from them than they are willing (or perhaps able) to give. A once-a-week chance to interact is about the most I think we can hope for. And who knows? If it goes well, it might encourage the Team to slowly expand their involvement with the community!
Askville: Capital Punishment
Oct. 16th, 2009 09:30 amApparently someone was recently executed for a crime it was then proved they hadn't committed. Someone asked if this would mean the end of capital punishment in the USA.
I suppose this is political, so here's a cut.
( Read more... )
I suppose this is political, so here's a cut.
( Read more... )
Askville: Capital Punishment
Oct. 16th, 2009 09:30 amApparently someone was recently executed for a crime it was then proved they hadn't committed. Someone asked if this would mean the end of capital punishment in the USA.
I suppose this is political, so here's a cut.
( Read more... )
I suppose this is political, so here's a cut.
( Read more... )
