October 2008
Forum Support
Bug reports, technical issues, and general forum related questions should be posted here.
- 351 reads
Forum Related Announcements Found Here
Forum Related Announcements Found Here.
- 469 reads
Rules for The Sky Isn't Falling Forums
The Rules are simple.
1. These forums are not to be used to discuss/conspire in illegal activity.
2. Don't be an idiot. This includes spamming, flaming, racist, sexist, or homophobic remarks. Intelligent discussion is encouraged.
3. Forum Moderators have final say on what is and is not allowed.
That's it.
Rules are subject to change without notice.
- 1317 reads
The Bogeyman Uses Facebook
Arse-puckering news out of the U.K. recently. Noteworthy articles can be found (here) and (here). In a nutshell, there are plans in the works to allow government and law enforcement entities to collect, catalog, and monitor personal information from various internet services including instant messaging, gaming, and social networking sites. It should come as no surprise that the idea of someone looking over their shoulder the whole time they're online pisses a lot of people off, but this isn't the only reason to worry about this kind of surveillance.
Now I'm not saying that it's not important, but I'm going to try to sidestep the whole George Orwell/1984/Big Brother side of the discussion. Issues of privacy as a fundamental right are absolutely important, but the first thing anyone ever points out is that this kind on monitoring of the public is a slippery slope into an Orwellian dystopia. So for shits and giggles (and a brief thought experiment) let's assume that your government loves you, terrorists really are using Facebook to plot global annihilation, and this proposed project has nothing to do with targeting legitimate political dissent and freedom of speech. Warm and fuzzy? Off we go...
"Cheaper" Oil?
I recently saw an article on time.com asking a question that struck me as somewhat bizarre; "Is Cheaper Oil A Good Thing?" "Cheaper Oil"? Cheaper how? Define your terms. Sure, a litre (welcome to Canada) of gas costs less than it did last week, but does John Q actually perceive this slight drop in price as "cheap"? Apparently so. The opiated public has become so conditioned to rapid, seemingly arbitrary fluctuations in prices at the pump that they lose sight of the fact that it's been two-steps-forward-one-step-back for a very long time now.
I took this picture in June of 2003. I found the numerological irony in the price that day amusing because at the time $0.666 per litre was high. It would be about two years later that gas stations would start changing out their signs to be able to display an extra digit and shift the decimal point to the left, forshadowing the price increase above $1.00 per litre.
So the price has more than doubled in less than five years. So what? Well, how many people do you know whose income matches that increase? I'll assume "not many" and continue.
Welcome All To THE SKY ISN'T FALLING
Every asshole has an opinion, and the internet always has room for one more soapbox. We humbly request your indulgence while we tell you what's wrong with the world. There are tons of useless, shitty blogs out there. Nobody wants to hear about how your parents don't understand you or look at pictures of your fucking cat. The world WILL NOT end if your team doesn't win the Superbowl/World Series/Stanley Cup. If that's the kind of thing you're looking for then kindly close this window now. The rest of us will wait.
The Goal here is to provide useful information and ideas in small, easy to digest pieces. Perhaps you'll go out and find your own info-nuggets and come back and share with the rest of us. But above all, lift the veil of bullshit and open your eyes. Question everything. Take nothing on blind faith.
In short: Think. Don't Panic. The Sky Isn't Falling.
- 177 reads
About
Why does THESKYISNTFALLING.COM exist?
Every asshole has an opinion, and the internet always has room for one more soapbox. We humbly request your indulgence while we tell you what's wrong with the world.
There are tons of useless, shitty blogs out there. Nobody wants to hear about how your parents don't understand you or look at pictures of your fucking cat. The world WILL NOT end if your team doesn't win the Superbowl/World Series/Stanley Cup. If that's the kind of thing you're looking for then kindly close this window now. The rest of us will wait.
The Goal here is to provide useful information and ideas in small, easy to digest pieces. Perhaps you'll go out and find your own info-nuggets and come back and share with the rest of us. But above all, lift the veil of bullshit and open your eyes. Question everything. Take nothing on blind faith.
In short: Think. Don't Panic. The Sky Isn't Falling.
- 1012 reads