VincePetaccio

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Posts posted by VincePetaccio

  1. No, I'm suggesting that making alcohol more available will allow acclimation to alcohol, reducing novelty and, hopefully, binge-drinking and other irresponsible drinking activities.

    Regardless, these are nitpicks. You're both ignoring the parts of what I'm saying that are most important.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  2. You've left out the factor of price- have you seen the price of a pack of cigarettes lately?! I'm sure this is a huge motivator for smokers to quit, and non-smokers to not start.

    Compared to Europe, the USA drinks considerably less. In fact, the US consumes less alcohol than almost any other nation. However, we have the second-highest rate of alcohol-related death in the world, behind the biggest drinkers (Europe).

    WHO report: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357892/U-S-drinks-lowest-alcohol-developed-world-figures-reveal.html

    So, we drink the least, but have one of the highest alcohol-related death rates? Meanwhile, we have some of the strictest restrictions of the "wet" nations. Something's not right there.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  3. In my last post, I considered posing the question of alcohol-related deaths in states with and without privatized liquor sales. However, I'm not convinced that a simple percentage is adequate for providing any kind of meaningful information; there are simply way too many variables at play.

    In order to see what the effects would be, I feel we'd have to see the same state switch from one paradigm to the other (kind of a matched-pairs statistical test).

    I'm not quite buying the study's results, but maybe that's just my skeptical ego. :P

    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  4. Have you seen liquor sales privatized while seeing no change in drunk driving accidents?

    In PA, only states stores can sell liquor. Clearly there is a lot of variation from state to state on liquor laws. I'd like to see this standardized across the nation, and then privatized.

    Also, this is the lesser of the issues. The drinking age and the vigor with which we enforce it is the larger issue. Some may recall what happened when NJ tried to lower the drinking age to 18 not long ago- the state was threatened with funding loss unless it raised the drinking age back to 21. So, in effect, we do have national laws on alcohol, but not in a way that has Americans' best interests in mind.

    The American alcohol culture needs to change to overcome these problems. Putting the whip down here and there is a good start.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  5. Personally, I believe that the majority of the problems we have with alcohol stem from overregulation.

    Lower the drinking age, nationally privatize liquor sales, and I'm sure we won't need to be "breathalyzing" every person who gets in a car. :S

    Honestly, I worry that this would simply worsen the issues that it's designed to alleviate.

    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  9. The first (Millennium) is in fact HDR, made from three shots.

    The house on the sand (Blow) is actually a combination of overlay blending and high-pass filters in Photoshop, as well as a few other adjustments that kind of make up my own secret recipe. ;)

    Here's another photo that combines both methods. I laughed out loud when my friend told me it looked like a scene from the 90s computer game Myst. :ph34r:

    I'm digging the skydiving photos. The shots from this series are my favorite:
    http://www.scottgunstills.com/Skydiving-2010/Photos/10-11-Apr-2010/11822846_bMpp4#835690041_qEm6n

    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  10. A good method for manual focusing is to zoom in as far as you can, set the focus, and then set your zoom to where you'd like it.

    edit: I've uploaded a few of mine from 2010. Wish I had more time to shoot!
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  11. Quote

    Patrick got me a new camera last month, and I really want to start learning about photography, but I have no idea where to even start. You don't know what you don't know, right?

    I need to upload a few, but I'm too lazy to resize them right now :$.



    Throw out any "rules" you may be following (common beginner habit- centering the subject in every shot), then take shots that look good to your eye.

    THEN, start learning about formal theory- rule of thirds, color theory, contrast.

    Learn about lighting.

    Above all, KNOW YOUR CAMERA!
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  12. People my age with music really irritate me.

    "Welp, walking to 7-11, better put in my headphones."

    "Welp, going snowboarding, better put in my headphones."

    "Welp, JUMPING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE, better put in my headphones."

    WHY is music necessary in ANY of these situations?! I love music at least as much as the next guy- I own and operate a recording studio and have two albums on iTunes- but I also see the value of listening to the world around me.

    Next to vision, auditory cues are the BEST way for me to predict how my environment will change, and they prepare me for these changes. This is incredibly important in high-speed activities that require attention, focus, and vigilance.

    It has been well-established (see the text document I attached with references to 23 academic papers) that increasing the amount of distracting auditory stimuli lengthens reaction time and lessens attention to detail in visual stimuli. Both of these are incredibly important in skydiving, as we all know.

    By listening to music in freefall, and especially under canopy, you are putting yourself, AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THE AIR at risk.

    wtf, whose idea was this????
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  16. Quote

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    ... but it sure doesn't sound like any scam (yet) to me.



    Because we all know how difficult it is to buy video tape in Los Angeles. :S


    hahaha, that just made me spit chalky candy heart all over my monitor. THANKS.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  17. Quote

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    Dear sales,

    I will like a price quote and availability of the items below:

    100 Units Of Sony PDV 184N - DV tape - 184min

    I will forward my credit card details for payment as soon as I receive the price quote,and including the shipping cost by Fedex or UPS to the Zip-Code:90278

    Awaiting your swift response.

    Regards,



    I responded with a price of 3275.00


    Sounds like they're a bit confused about how scams work. :|
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  18. Quote


    We actually have programs like this. Not just military; there's a civilian program that will pay a doctor's student loans off if they move to an underserved rural area to provide medical care.



    OK, that's a bit easier to swallow, and I can appreciate such a program. However, what I was responding to with such indignity was the idea that all doctors should serve military time mandatorily, without creating an equal requirement for all professions.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  19. Quote


    That is very easy to fix. They will be doing something good for their society or so they keep trying to tell us right, so society needs to bear the brunt of their training. If I am not mistaken the military pays for quite a few people to acquire the skills that they need including doctors. The doctors are then obligated to pay that back by serving their country for a specified period of time.

    That my dear is a win win for everyone.

    I think a few of the "conservatards" forget about things like that all too conveniently and spout off with the usual pap about socialism.



    LOL, so anybody wishing to be a doctor serves mandatory military time? Yep, that'll go over real well.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  20. Quote

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    So what if the quality of the care falls to shit? I mean, you end up with more money, right?



    So at least you agree then that Universal Health Care will save money - wow , what a concept.....!

    Not sure how you come to the conclusion that health care will go to shit. Canada, Europe, almost all socialized medicine countries have longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality rates,

    ding ding ding - we have a winner. lower costs and better health care. WOW

    every time you speak you continue to make my argument - keep up the good work



    Though doctors' salaries are considerably lower in those nations- not an easy thing for Americans to swallow, considering the enormous expense required to become a doctor here.

    ANYWAY, remember when this thread was about ASSANGE?!
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  21. Quote

    All I'm saying is that "reproduction" in your definition refers to a species' ability to reproduce itself. Your definition is only useful for determining if some alien entity (or intelligent robot, etc.) is alive. It can't be used to tell if an individual member of a species is alive or not. It is not useful in this context.

    To directly answer your question, single cell orgainsms reproducing through division do not necessarily produce identical "offspring". If they did, evolution could not occur. The results, on the whole, can be considered unique individuals.

    All of this is off the OPs point. There is no question that the cells that make up a zygote, embryo, fetus, or teenager are living cells. The question is at what point do we consider the group of living cells to be a human being. You can't say that every group of living homo sapien cells is a human being. If you did, then my pancreas is a human being, as is my liver, spleen, half my spleen, my right eye, and one thirtieth of my left ball.



    The genetic entropy present in a single division is so unfathomably minuscule that saying they are different would be about on par with saying that two twins are unrelated because they have different numbers of hairs on their heads.

    Though operationally, I concede that you're correct, if we choose groups of living cells. However, by selecting organs or portions of your left ball (or even your RIGHT BALL!), you're only selecting part of the organism. We're talking about the entire thing when we discuss a zygote.

    Of course, you are correct in that a zygote could not interact with another zygote and form a third, unique zygote.

    Personally, I don't consider a zygote itself to be a human being. However, I do think that it represents the potential to become a human being. That's not something that I take lightly.

    The jury's still out on my stance on the unspoken umbrella issue here (abortion).
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  22. Quote

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    Interesting that Assange is all about leaking other's info...and yet seeking to protect his own
    :S



    huh? trademarking has nothing to do with protecting information.


    True.

    Although, if Assange WERE fighting to protect his own privacy, I wouldn't really see that as being entirely hypocritical.

    Assange claims to have an interest in protecting the individual, and in only exposing as much information as necessary to complete a "task." Of course, it's hard to say whether he's been successful or not in this goal (most would probably say that no, he has not), but at least his formally stated intentions are to protect individuals. I'd say that's in line with protecting his own personal information.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  23. DaVinci,

    I don't know you, nor do I have much experience "foruming" with you outside of Speakers Corner, but jeez, take it easy! Every post I see you make is rude, attacking, and just downright condescending.

    Different people feel differently than you do about things. That's OK. It doesn't make you right or them wrong, or visa versa.

    You're on the internet. Cool your jets.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!

  25. Quote



    Reproduction in this context does not mean cellular division, it means the ability to produce another unique individual.



    By this definition, no single-cell organism reproducing asexually (or ANY organism reproducing asexually) would be considered to be "alive."

    Again, I'm not really advocating for any stance here... just trying to answer the OP's question.
    Come, my friends! 'Tis not too late to seek out a newer world!