2007-07-11T06:24:54-05:00 themolotov.net tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/blog tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-87/comment-145 2008-01-31T07:58:39-05:00 Alan

Among other things, this made me wonder what kind of effect it would have on our aging process. Do we still look like kids until we hit 100, then look like teens for another 100 years? Do we somehow magically stay at an ideal 20-something for most of our lives? Do we age normally and look like we are really really really really old as we get older?

I agree that with the current state of affairs in the world, extending a person's natural life span simply increases the likelihood that you will die by some other cause.

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-72/comment-144 2007-08-22T12:09:48-05:00 ava

Grammar is not entirely a mash of arbitrary rules; all grammar is is a system to organize words so that people can understand what you're saying, instead of your words coming across as an empty jumble of meaninglessness. Certain parts of grammar, such as the division of words into categories of nouns, verbs, etc. based on what the word describes, are far from arbitrary and are shared by pretty much every language.

The part of grammar that varies from language to language is the order in which words are put. In some languages, such as Latin or Greek, word order usually doesn't matter. In other languages, such as English, word order is all-important, and in Spanish, word order is equally important, but they use a different order. Is it arbitrary? Yes and no. Obviously some sort of organization is required, or else we'd all be babbling and nobody would have any idea what anybody else was saying, but which type of organization is used doesn't really matter so long as everyone can understand what you're saying. efficiency > prettyness.

In English, we're pretty constrained by history as to what sort of grammar we can use and still be understandable. Things like split infinitives and no prepositions on the end of sentences come from 17th century attempts to apply Latin syntax to English, and are not part of native English syntax at all. If you split your infinitives, never use "whom" (or use it wrong), and end every sentence you speak with a preposition, no one will really care and everyone will be able to tell what you're saying. On the other hand, if you never use the present tense and put every last one of your adjectives at the tail end of your sentences, people will have a very hard time trying to figure out what in the hell you're saying.

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-72/comment-143 2007-08-15T10:20:11-05:00 molotov

But did you read what I wrote?

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-72/comment-142 2007-08-14T02:03:44-05:00 Alan

I cringed when I read the title in the rss feed.

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-69/comment-141 2007-07-18T07:44:36-05:00 molotov

That's what I said; it's a problem that probably affects all of Linux, not just Ubuntu.

I've had a similar problem with my keyboard on my Powerbook. Currently my DownArrow registers as my RightClick, even after loading different keymaps, trying to override those maps, and then finally trying to FORCE the key to be something else.

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-69/comment-140 2007-07-17T07:38:14-05:00 ava

More likely the problem was with my wireless card itself; I found hordes of drivers for every other wireless card under the sun except mine, and of the tiny handful that claimed to be compatible with mine, a grand total of zero of them actually worked.

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-68/comment-139 2007-07-13T08:42:43-05:00 Alan

(No html? I guess that's why you have the Parse Bbcode down there, huh?)

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-68/comment-138 2007-07-13T08:42:12-05:00 Alan

At least I said <a href="http://alanbeam.net/Blog/135">that</a> <i>before</i> you wrote this...

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-68/comment-134 2007-07-11T08:01:28-05:00 molotov

Erin, I don't mean that our interpretations should imply trust or anything. It's important to know the 'official' interpretation of the law (whether or not we agree with it) if only because it will help us avoid breaking it, or plan accordingly.

Alon, I have no idea what an unofficial sponsor would be, really. I am an 'unofficial sponsor' of Linux. If an organization recognizes unofficial sponsors, don't they become sponsors? Maybe unofficial just means people, somewhere, are getting kickbacks but want to stay unaffiliated for political reasons.

tag:themolotov.net,2008-01-31:/entry-69/comment-133 2007-07-11T06:24:54-05:00 molotov

That sounds like a Linux thing, not an Ubuntu thing. There may not be a click-to-install driver for your wireless interface, but I'd have a hard time believing that no one in the Linux community could get it to work (but damn, when you run into that situation, it sucks trying to figure it out on your own, if you can).