Report from a friend stranded in Thailand

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  Dan Klarmann on The beliefs of Scientologists
  I've read Battlefield Earth. A few times. It's a deeply detailed adventure story covering several years and phases of action. Savage turns prisoner becomes military leader becomes political figurehead becomes actual political leader becomes savior of mankind. Granted, the story is one dimensional and loaded with stereotypes and prejudices from earl... »
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  Erich Vieth on Get real about Afghanistan?
  The Guardian calls the military occupation in Afghanistan "Groundhog Day," indicating that "Afghanistan is a political failure, a fact over which the international community continue to be in denial." http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/04/afghanistan-political-failure-kim-howells »
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  Niklaus Pfirsig on The beliefs of Scientologists
  I've never read any of Hubbard's books, but I have seen the movie version of "Battlefield Earth" with John Travolta as the lead villain. If the film was anywhere true to the story, (and I suspect is was), it wasn't bad in the beginning. It started off by setting up mankind being treated as semi-intelligent beasts of burden by an occupying alien ar... »
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  Mark Tiedemann on The beliefs of Scientologists
  Dan,This is probably a matter of taste, but that Hubbard was "engaging page turners, light burners, wage earners. They show a keen grasp of storytelling" is hardly the same as saying he was a good writer---the same can be said of Dan Brown and I think he's little better than a hack.Hubbard was, however, popular in the 30s and part of the 40s, at on... »
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  Dan Klarmann on The beliefs of Scientologists
  I disagree with Mark about L Ron Hubbard's quality of writing. His stories are all engaging page turners, light burners, wage earners. They show a keen grasp of storytelling. They also show a near total ignorance of science and math, and only the faintest grasp of the distinction between magic and technology.In fact, his instinct for storytelling i... »
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  Dan Klarmann on Who created hell and why?
  Rev. Claude needs to read some actual history. The diameter of the Earth was known (within a few percent) hundreds of years before Jesus. This knowledge was not lost to navigators or intellectuals, even if the uneducated public might have missed it. After all, the Bible itself misleads on this point: Inerrant Biblical Geology Falls FlatThe Bible is... »
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  Mark Tiedemann on Who created hell and why?
  Rev,Just because Atlanta is depicted in "Gone With The Wind" and there was something called the Civil War, does that change that book from fiction to history?Also, people in ancient Greece knew the world is round, hundreds of years B.C.E. People here and there, from time to time, have lost that knowledge and regained it, usually because someone in... »
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  Erich Vieth on Elizabeth Warren: Nothing much has changed
  Paul: If Congress had given Elizabeth Warren the power to issue subpoenas and enforce them, I might agree with you that she is "partially culpable." But they've tied her hands. Further, it has become increasingly clear that there was not any accounting method in place when the money was doled out. None of this is Ms. Warren's fault. Give her ... »
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  Rev. Claude Bordeleau on Who created hell and why?
  Mark...Just because you don't believe or understand the good book, doesn't mean it's fiction. A couple of 100 years ago people believed the world was flat, and to say the world was round was considered fiction.Every cities or civilizations mentioned in the good book have been documented to have existed exactly where it said it did. But also, artifa... »
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  Paul on Elizabeth Warren: Nothing much has changed
  Ms. Warren has been an entertaining figure to see interviewed, and she appears very competent. When, though, will be begin accepting responsibility for her job? It is great to go around the country talking about how you don't know where the money is, and getting a good laugh from the crowd. But... umm..... isn't it her job to figure this stuff o... »
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  NIklaus Pfirsig on Court reporters and multitasking
  Erich, Much recognition software employs an artificial intelligence programming technique known as a neural net simulation. Neural net simulations run many parallel sub-programs, called nodes, that independently analyze the input and produce a list of possible results. Each node starts with a different list of possible results. Each node votes ... »
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  Niklaus Pfirsig on The beliefs of Scientologists
  one thing I found scary was the mega-dosing on niacin. B vitamins have long been used in detoxification programs for drug and alcohol abuse. Niacin has several effects in moderate to high doses. It temporarily increased blood flow throughout the body, has an anti-inflammatory effect, and in many people causes a "flush", a prickly heat sensation t... »
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  Erich Vieth on Court reporters and multitasking
  Dan: I can just hear the little computer speaker barking: Speak up, please! Then again, that's what court reporters sometimes need to do. »
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  Ben on Fans, Freedom, and Frustration
  Actually no, I am that rare person who reads Playboy for the articles. »
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  Dan Klarmann on Court reporters and multitasking
  Erich, there is a basic difference between what any software does, and what it shows a user. Internally, Dragon knows its own confidence level, the sound levels, the sound distinction levels, the frequency distributions of each sound, and the frequency distribution and volume of the background noise.For a consumer dictation program, all it displays... »
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  Erich Vieth on Fans, Freedom, and Frustration
  Ben: I agree with you about Hillary Hahn. But would we find her as "interesting" if she was actually an old fat guy with protruding nose hairs? »
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  Erich Vieth on The inevitable march toward equality continues
  We've got to protect marriage, you know--see here: http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/1966/sanctityofmarriage.jpg »
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  Erich Vieth on Matt Tabbi goes to war against Goldman Sachs
  On DemocracyNow, Amy Goodman speaks to McClatchy reporter Greg Gordon:In 2006 and 2007, the bank reportedly peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in US housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting. See, Go... »
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  Erich Vieth on Court reporters and multitasking
  Dan: That is often not my experience. When I use Dragon, it spits out the closest fit to the words I utter, and they can sometimes be dramatically different than what I utter. It doesn't display any sort of confidence level--Dragon is ALWAYS confident! The exception would be if I were to cough, at which point Dragon doesn't recognize any te... »
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  Dan Klarmann on Court reporters and multitasking
  Dragon may not yet be perfect in transcription, but it could easily tell when it is having trouble, as in mumbling, indistinct word separations, and overall volume (the causes of "speak up"). »
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