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What? Linus is going to come to the party? You just are not the party type, huh? The whole idea is to go as far as you can while still desperately trying not to become the scandal of the night. All expect it, all come to see it, but nobody wants the part. Still, I think we have some people here who we can count on.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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W∴ Balboos wrote: Now that there must be an appropriate number of "women" and "people of color" amongst the winners, you cannot be sure who, if anyone, really earned it.
Filling a quota rather than rewarding those who deserve it devalues all awards.
If all the best people in all categories happen to all be women and people of color, then I have no problem giving them all the Oscars. They just have to expect the same when the opposite is also true. There's the incentive for everyone to make something exceptional.
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All they needed, not that long ago, was a loud whine from the (supposedly) underrepresented - and they even said they 'need to fix the problem'.
Well - if 95% of the directors are white males, I'd expect a 95% chance that the best director would be a white male. Maybe a bit less - those who don't fit the mold are very possibly a bit better to even get where they are (assuming it, too, wasn't another quota!).
And I understand the reality . . . I see old movies from the 1930's and 1940's. Everyone seems to be, basically, a WASP. By the 40's, it seems Jews were allowed to use their real name as producers, composers, and the like - but not actually be in even a minor acting roll. Black? Occasionally allowed to act in humiliating. Women? Blond heroines. Dark haired were either part of the evil group or exotic 'native' queens (white queen of black tribe). If you've never done so, look up "Edgar G. Robinson"'s real name.
So - there are problems - but like everything else - you can admit them and eliminate obstacles. That's fair to all - let the best be the best. All will benefit. As soon as there's special treatment then merit is suspect (warranted or not). That results in a great roar, most akin to a flushing sound.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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It reminded me of when Justin Trudeau (still today Canada's PM) just got elected and, when asked why his cabinet would be made up of 50% women and minorities, his response was "because it's 2015". Which was met with thunderous applause. Oh, so progressive, Justin.
My follow-up question has always been, if all the best qualified candidates for those jobs were all women and minorities, then he'd be discriminating against them because he apparently still wanted the remaining 50% to be represented by some other group(s). In other words, he's prioritized quotas rather than finding the best people for the job. When you're hiring for the top-level jobs in government, shouldn't you be looking at qualifications first, regardless of gender/skin color/whatever else? Heck, when interviewing candidates, we're not allowed to ask about anything that could be used to discriminate against any particular group. Yet this is exactly what he did (and was so proud of it).
With logic like that, he sure lost no time to demonstrate how he was not qualified for the job.
(Soapbox material? I'm discussing policies, not politics)
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dandy72 wrote: When you're hiring for the top-level jobs in government, shouldn't you be looking at qualifications first, regardless of gender/skin color/whatever else?
Here, I profoundly disagree.
The best qualified should be picked out amongst all candidates for any job. The person who doesn't get a job because room was made for a special pick? That person feels as hungry and desperate and anyone else. What did they do that they should be punished. The answer is, of course, the same as was used to discrimiate against the "others": they were born with the wrong gender/skin/religion/accent/.....
When affirmative action first came out - for that ONE GENERATION - it was, alas, sensible. Opportunity to compete was stolen from them. Now? Opportunities their but quotas are easier. So let the "other people" study and get the job because your particular group remains under-represented. F^ck that! A very good say: "You've made your bed, now lie in it."
Ultimately, it is in the interest of 'racists' to have racial quotas - as it keeps the fires of hate well stoked.
There is one and only one way to end discrimination. Don't F***ing Discriminate!
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos wrote: Here, I profoundly disagree.
The best qualified should be picked out amongst all candidates for any job.
Well, I've probably expressed this poorly then. I certainly agree 100% with that.
W∴ Balboos wrote: There is one and only one way to end discrimination. Don't F***ing Discriminate!
That was pretty much my point about my Trudeau reference. That is discrimination.
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Who is this Oscar fellow that everybody is talking about? None of my friends are named Oscar, but it seems like everybody is expected to know him. I haven't even been able to pick up his family name - appearently everyone but me knows it. What is his last name? Where does he live? Is he in the computer business, or why else are we talking about him?
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Was reading the latest xkcd: Plutonium[^]
And remembered exactly how stupid people can get.
I give you the plutonium powered pacemaker[^]
The program was cancelled in 1972 because cremations.
Note the manufacturer. Next time they tell you that their products are perfectly safe and nothing can go wrong, point out this product to them. (Any answers regarding this should probably be posted to the soapbox)
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I give you the Shoe-fitting fluoroscope - Wikipedia[^]
Yes, that's right: a foot x-ray machine you look directly at run by shoe shop sales people ... what could possibly go wrong? 
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I'm old enough to remember them vaguely. It was kinda cool to see your foot like that.
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Well, actually....
Both Voyagers have been on their way with nuclear batteries since 1976. The launch was the most dangerous moment, since we would not really want to have some Plutonium flying around as debris in case the launch failed? But after that? In the outer solar system solar panels would have not been of much use. The nuclear batteries have given the Voyagers a far longer life than planned, giving us some data we would not have gotten so easily. Unfortunately, even nuclear batteries do not last forever. The day when they are not strong enough anymore to keep the computers going is forseeable and they are happy about every day the probes still last. We will not get there again any time soon.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Yes I know, but the risk of getting a Voyager falling down in your garden is pretty small.
Putting a tiny rod of one of the most poisonus materials known to man inside us is a bit different I think.
(Thinking of my father that had to exchange his pacemaker after a fall in the garden)
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Yes, they did not know it any better until they studied the effects of radiation after dropping two nuclear bombs on cities. Remember the pictures of soldiers coming out of their holes after nuclear tests or the men extinguishing fires on the ships that had survived the (I think) Castle Bravo Test[^] at Bikini.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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If it's good enough for V-GER, it's good enough for my phone!
Correction: For Your phone -- I don't want the bloody stuff in my pocket!
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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I used to say that about my favorite little processor. Too bad it most probably was a myth, even if the Voyagers' computers were indeed made by RCA and with early CMOS logic to cut down the power requirements.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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So - would you accept one or die?*
How many surgeries would you go through to replace one with batteries that die?
Now - they can recharge externally - hopefully not with the same battery "failures" that have become every more common (talk about bad heartburn . . .).
* Obviously rhetorical as you're not presently committed to the outcome.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos wrote: So - would you accept one or die?*
Since there are alternatives the question is moot.
W∴ Balboos wrote: How many surgeries would you go through to replace one with batteries that die?
In the case of my father: two.
Half a day at the hospital for checks, but the actual op took only a few minutes. They put the box just under the skin below the collarbone.
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You should have read the answers before answering...   
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Two weeks of sun shine, blue sky, and midteens temperatures (thats almost 60F).
Loving it!
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60 feet! that's some big surf. no wonder the teens love it.
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Absolutely lovely: 19C here in (normally darkest, dampest) Wales.
I suspect that it's a combination of Brexit and the English Rugby Collapse that causes this good weather!
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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WHat! We stuffed the Frogs, thats all that matters! 
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