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Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

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Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#91

Post by ginko »

gsivil wrote: post #53
makmanalp wrote: post #9

Damn, this is not nice. Maybe HN can pitch in to get him a new laptop? I'd donate a few bucks. Edit: What the heck? What's wrong with what I suggested?

I am not so sure that rms cannot afford a laptop. He is in need of more free models to choose from than a few bucks

According to http://richard.stallman.usesthis.com RMS would like to have a real laptop with an open BIOS.

Shouldn't a laptop like the Thinkpad X60 or T60 with Coreboot installed fulfill that requirement? They are supported according to the coreboot site.

Are there any other potential problems I'm not thinking of? Possibly a firmware issue with the Intel chipset?

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#92

Post by billpatrianakos »

nakkiel wrote: post #83
billpatrianakos wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoah, wait, what condition? I wasn't aware that Stallman had any condition that would cause him to react that way. I even just posted a comment that touches on that topic. I hope I didn't just sound like a jerk picking on someone with a mental/emotional disorder I didn't know about.

Read the second comment on the link.

You mean the second comment on the actual article page? I did. It mentions how distressed he was and why he was distressed but mentioned no condition. We are talking about a medical condition, right? I'm sorry, if that's not it then I might need it spelled out for me. If that is really it then I still think it was a little bit of an overreaction. I can definitely relate to being that upset but to be punching yourself in the head and carrying on that way where others can clearly see you is strange to put it nicely.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#93

Post by swa14 »

billpatrianakos wrote: post #85
stinkytaco wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Running the risk of being an armchair psychologist, I think it's pretty well established that RMS likely falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, or at least has some sort of behavioral condition that leads to behavior like this, as well as his documented social quirks. Which is to say that I think he's probably mentally stable, but a bit strange by everyday standards.

But punching himself in the head? I knew Stallman was weird as we all did and that yeah, he's probably got some disorder but when he's punching himself in the head publicly you can't help but wonder if maybe we should reevaluate our faith in his ideas. Having a mental disorder does not automatically invalidate anything he's ever promoted or done but for me personally, I'd ask myself whether the next idea he promotes…

>>he's probably got some disorder but when he's punching himself in the head publicly you can't help but wonder if maybe we should reevaluate our faith in his ideas

That's a bit of a leap of faith from a second hand account from a comment on a blog that related the event. I think it's safer to assume for now that the person who made the comment is not a native speaker (due to his name, and, obviously, being present at the talk) and is describing someone acting out the "stupid, stupid! stupid. How could I be so careless!" routine combined with hitting your own head, which I believe is a fairly common way to express exasperation, as "punching himself in the head".

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#94

Post by EGreg »

With so much traveling, all around the world, and dealing with thousands of people, something's bound to happen.

I hope RMS has an enrypted backup of his data on his home server. It isn't that hard to do, even if you care deeply about privacy and freedom.

As for the rest of the stuff ... I really hope that the organizers can obtain the medicine for him in short order. It's the least they can do. The stolen passport does slow him down, but he should contact the nearest embassy or consulate and they can help him:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/lostpassport...

The stolen laptop sadly is unlikely to be recovered. The conference organizers should buy one for him.

Does RMS actually have any money saved up, or just the bare essentials? A public figure like that should make quite a decent amount of money from speaking engagements.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#96

Post by Confusion »

mkr-hn wrote: post #69
billpatrianakos wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also agree with the troll and it really does look like that was deliberate trolling. But really, it made sense anyway. You're not allowed to criticize Stallman on HN. I found that out the hard way. It's frowned upon even more than criticizing Steve Jobs (both before and after his passing). But since you brought this up I'd also like to add that I question how this got to the front page. I mean, yeah it sucks and I…

I've criticized both RMS and Jobs on HN. People upvoted me for it. The quality of your arguments matters a lot in those and similar cases because people are more inclined to downvote for a poor argument where they would otherwise let it slide.

Exactly! If you want to convince a Christian that it would be better if some of Jesus's lessons were not followed, and you actually care about convincing them, then you should carefully phrase your criticism.

Perhaps that shouldn't be necessary, but if you rank spreading certain opinions higher than being able to spread them in a certain way, then you'll have to choose. I usually choose adjusting my communication to be more effective in spreading the opinion.

Of course some people can't be reasoned with, but if you communicate effectively, you will find most people can be reasoned with.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#97

Post by kylebrown »

myth_drannon wrote: post #40

Well he is not the first celebrity to get robbed in B.A. Bush daughter was visiting the city, the whole neighbourhood was crawling with CIA agents and her purse was still stolen...

The spanish article mentions that the photographer's camera was also stolen.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#99

Post by Udo »

billpatrianakos wrote: post #85
stinkytaco wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Running the risk of being an armchair psychologist, I think it's pretty well established that RMS likely falls somewhere on the autism spectrum, or at least has some sort of behavioral condition that leads to behavior like this, as well as his documented social quirks. Which is to say that I think he's probably mentally stable, but a bit strange by everyday standards.

But punching himself in the head? I knew Stallman was weird as we all did and that yeah, he's probably got some disorder but when he's punching himself in the head publicly you can't help but wonder if maybe we should reevaluate our faith in his ideas. Having a mental disorder does not automatically invalidate anything he's ever promoted or done but for me personally, I'd ask myself whether the next idea he promotes…

  [...] when he's punching himself in the head publicly you  
  can't help but wonder if maybe we should reevaluate our  
  faith in his ideas [...]
We should reevaluate everyone's ideas then (which is probably just as well), because nobody is perfect. Most people have some deeply-seated issues, very successful and very public people almost always have even harsher personal problems. It's what enables them to stand out, to move further than most of us. So, yes, of course RMS has some kind of disorder, most entrepreneurs have some kind of disorder, most CEOs probably too.

There is a quote from the West Wing that rings in my ears whenever a public figure shows some kind of flaw and someone like you inevitably demands that flaw invalidates everything they stand for:

Because we’re all broken, every single one of us, and yet we pretend that we’re not. We all live lives of imperfection and yet we cling to this fantasy that there’s this perfect life and that our leaders should embody it. But if we expect our leaders to live on some higher moral plane than the rest of us, well we’re just asking to be deceived.

Re: Rms has his bag stolen in Argentina

#100

Post by keithpeter »

jackfoxy wrote: post #80
nakkiel wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the other guy wrote. He had his passport in the bag. The number one rule of traveling: your passport is your life. There are things in that should not be somebody else's task. Edit: you guys might be right about the troll thing. I'm terribly confused now as I must confess I agree with a troll..

I traveled overseas for 3 straight years long ago, and with the exception of when I had my own locked apartment, I kept my passport physically on my body at all times. The comment above about developed countries is provocative. I know very little about Argentina, but I believe in the 1930's it was considered on par with European countries and North America in terms of development.

London has some pretty effective pickpockets (try Covent Garden on a busy weekend in Summer). Prague petty criminals prefer the accidental bumping into you approach, especially in the main tourist area outside Tyn cathedral/Astronomical Clock in the old town square.

I must admit that I relax a little when I enter an academic environment.

I have one of those wallets that have little straps that hook over your belt, and then you put the wallet inside your trousers. Works for me.

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