Re: Sleep apnea (was something else)
On Sep 1, 2004, at 8:52 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: There's surgery that's 90 percent effective, but it involves moving one's upper and lower jaw forward, which means breaking various bones, then orthodontics to correct the bite... and adds up to being out of commission for a month. It's quite expensive and insurance is very, very reluctant to pay for it. Another surgical option involves a laser that sears the obstructing flesh. Unfortunately I tried it -- even with the codiene-based pain meds it was the worst pain I have ever known (and you're talking to a former cancer patient here) This hell went on for two weeks. It did work, though. But for only about six months. I was told that insurance wouldn't cover it because the effects were often temporary, but it sounded better to me than CPAP. Not worth it! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Ethics
On Aug 26, 2004, at 10:55 AM, Doug Pensinger wrote: It seems eminently logical to me that ethics evolved in part as a survival mechanism for those that had a physical disadvantage and an intellectual advantage. For instance, a shaman that convinced his community that the spirits punished those who killed their spiritual leaders would stand a better chance of survival and would increase his power within the community. Thus, imposing ethics upon a community becomes not only a means to create order, but also a means for intellectuals to thrive. Something like this is explored quite nicely in a part of Stephen Baxter's _Evolution_. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Olympics, opening ceremony, opening number
On Aug 15, 2004, at 3:27 AM, Jean-Marc Chaton wrote: * Jim Burton [Fri, 13/08/2004 at 20:24 -0600] Just watched from the start to the parade of atheletes. Amazing! Uplifting! (except for the damn commercials every 5 minutes) How do they play the show with commercials : do They miss some parts parts or do they delay them ? Mostly, they actually cut the show, so one missed parts. During the parade of nations they did recap what was missed. PS: I've seen the whole show without a single break Lucky! I'll have to order the vid to see it without the breaks and NBC commentary. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Olympics, opening ceremony, opening number
Just watched from the start to the parade of atheletes. Amazing! Uplifting! (except for the damn commercials every 5 minutes) Jim ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Fight The Future: Encrypted Screws
On Aug 11, 2004, at 1:41 PM, Davd Brin wrote: My biggest example is the silent, unnoticed vanishing of any programming language from personal computers. I swear, I CANNOT GET A MACHINE WITH SIMPLE BASIC IN ORDER TO TEACH IT TO MY SON! It has taken 2 years, and I hope to get an old pentium machine soon with DOS 6.2 and BASIC aboard, so I can teach him the fundamentals of moving a dot via a simple algorithm. Silently, unnoticed, this has happened and a new generation will be able to make web pages and fancy Flash digitals... but without any grasp of the line coding underneath. Very disturbing. Good 'ole BASIC has gone bye-bye -- there is Visual Basic of course, but it's certainly not for children. There is a free GNU Java IDE that the writers claim to be good for teaching programming. Versions are available for Windoze, Linix and OSX http://judo.sourceforge.net/ Haven't used it myself, but if it can really give kids a good foundation in Java, that would be a Good Thing, IMHO Jim ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: BASIC, Java Etc.
On Aug 11, 2004, at 6:55 PM, Davd Brin wrote: I shall try ybasic, thanks. But after the horror of trying xbasic and qbasic and all the others, I do not expect much success. All were created by techies who suffer from techie-disease... an absolute assumption that everyboddy who downloads their compiler will instantly and miraculously know how to use it. The manuals are gibberish. There is nothing at all resembling a simple place to write line by line code and simply typr run. Hmm, if you use a modern BASIC be prepared for more frustration. There are many, many different flavors of BASIC and there's no guarantee they'll be compatible with your books. On the other hand, there's only one flavor of Python and one flavor of Java... Jim ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Enterprise - was: Stargate SG-1
On Mar 15, 2004, at 4:25 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: [snip] BTW anyone see the Enterprise Season Final? Enterprise is getting its ass kicked... Very cool. My local station decided to pull it for the current season, the bastards! Is Enterprise being carried on UPN? ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Mac users are nuttier than a fruitcake
On Feb 8, 2004, at 7:37 PM, The Fool wrote: http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,62157,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2 [snip] Yes, some Mac users are dangerously unstable -- no doubt by the insane fact that 90+ percent of the computer-using public has opted for an inferior platform :-) (Me, I use both) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: v*r*s question
On Feb 7, 2004, at 2:32 PM, Kevin Tarr wrote: Or third option, is this a backwards way to get a person to open mail, it sends you a bogus e-mail claiming to be a delivery failure? This is the operandi of the latest mail virus, W32/MyDoom.B See http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA04-028A.html ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Lith ab-Lesh
On Feb 2, 2004, at 12:13 AM, Trent Shipley wrote: Proto-Lith were largely vegetarian foragers, supplementing their diet with the occasional snail or amphibian. When did snails and amphibians make the journey to the Lith homeworld? :-) Probably should say snail-like creatures or somesuch. What is the proper scientific way to say that an creature looks similar to a Terran animal? Analogous (sp)? ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Janet Jacksons Right Breast Provokes Outrage
[oops, sorry for earlier non-content posting if you see it -- accidently hit Send before I was ready] On Feb 1, 2004, at 8:00 PM, Robert Seeberger wrote: Top CBS executives approved a musical skit where Janet Jackson would expose her breast during the MTV-produced Super Bowl half-time concert, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Of course, CBS, Janet, Timberlake and MTV are all saying it was a mistake. I suppose Janet wears nipple covers all the time, just in case? ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
