It is that, or launch it into the sun, but we do not want a challenger type disaster when launching nuclear waste.
So your rocket blows up.. just encase your radioactive waste in something that won't break apart in the explosion and use a submarine to go pick it up & try again.
my dad had a 1985 VW Golf diesel for a while, I loved driving the thing. If someone was following too close for comfort, I could just upshift, listen to those gerbils roar, and watch as the person behind me suddenly became much less interested in reading my bumper stickers... The huge black cloud of diesel smoke probably had something to do with their sudden change in attitude.:)
For many purposes, corporations have been declared people by our laws and judicial system. They are not people, of course. They are creations of legislatures and entrepreneurs and lawyers. They do not have the same inalienable rights you and I have.
AFAIK, corporations are not the same as individuals in our judicial system:
"The individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He is entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no such duty [to submit his books and papers for an examination] to the State, since he receives nothing therefrom, beyond the protection of his life and property. His rights are such as existed by the law of the land [Common Law] long antecedent to the organization of the State, and can only be taken from him by due process of law, and in accordance with the Constitution. Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself, and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under a warrant of the law. He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights.
Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the state. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives certain special privileges and franchises, and holds them subject to the laws of the state and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are only preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation. There is a reserved right in the legislature to investigate its contracts and find out whether it has exceeded its powers. It would be a strange anomaly to hold that a state, having chartered a corporation to make use of certain franchises, could not, in the exercise of its sovereignty, inquire how these franchises had been employed, and whether they had been abused, and demand the production of the corporate books and papers for that purpose. The defense amounts to this: That an officer of a corporation which is charged with a criminal violation of the statute, may plead the criminality of such corporation as a refusal to produce its books. To state this proposition is to answer it. While an individual may lawfully refuse to answer incriminating questions unless protected by an immunity statute, it does not follow that a corporation, vested with special privileges and franchises, may refuse to show its hand when charged with an abuse of such privileges.
I do have a pair of the exercise balls, and used them rather religiously for a while, at least a month.. While they might have helped a bit, they didn't provide enough relief.
Another thing - accupuncture can be great too.. that, and someone else says Carpal Tunnel/RSI results from a chronic intra-cellular magnesium defficiency - this stuff is a great magnesium supplement..
One thing that really helped deal with the pain was shoveling my car out of 18 inches of snow. Twice. (damn inconsiderate snow plows.:) I've also found that visiting my local trigger point therapist (random google link) has helped a lot. So, it's exercise and massage therapy if you don't want to be troubled with RSI.
The simple fact is that our energy problems are solvable far, far closer to the ground, and for far less money.
For the foreseeable future, this is true... However, that's no reason not to develop new energy sources. What if something is found along the path to this 'power in the sky' scheme that makes it dirt cheap to get power down from orbit? 20 years of development money seems like a small investment..
this was over three years ago, so it's just something to tell people about, and to file away in my library of experience. Funny story about when I did fight it though: On the day of my "trial" (hearing, whatever), I showed up in the courtroom ('cause that's where you're supposed to go when you go to court, right?:), where they were conducting a 'trial by judge' for a guy who'd stolen a $2 watch from Target. The bailiff says to me, "uhm, the prosecutor said this was his last case today." I'm like "wtf?", and walk outside the courtroom to find "my cop" and a judge out in the hallway wondering where I was. Anyways, the courtroom's taken, so we go into a janitorial closet, where they have a table & three chairs set up. (that's the honest-to-god truth, I distinctly remember yellow "caution wet floor" signs off in the corner). I tell my story, the "judge" says, "I don't think you can interpret the law that way, son." (read: gotta teach you a lesson boy, pay up). So I appeal to the superior court, and almost a year later, I show up 15 minutes late to my new "trial".:(. But the superior court kept the paperwork for another 2 years, so the points had nearly expired by the time they finally got reported to the DMV.
From your description, the officer was justified in giving you a ticket. The specific ticket he gave you may not have been quite appropriate; I won't say without seeing the entire law, not the snippet you posted (if there's a clause A, I assume there's a B to follow...). It's reckless to be driving a car with brakes so pathetic that you can't stop at 5 mph or to be paying so little attention that you can't. You caused no damages or injuries, but in other circumstances you would have. Damn straight you weren't "exercising reasonable care for the protection of others." I have no sympathy.
you may read all of 28-701 here. I was accused of violating section A. My brakes were not pathetic, all I needed was another six inches & I wouldn't have had anything to post on/. about. The point is that one cannot make a decision on a case without having seen it first hand.
furthermore, I find it sadening that you think "the officer was justified in giving [me] a ticket." (sadening in a "shake your head & wonder what's gotten into people's minds these days that they think 'that's what governments are supposed to do'" kinda way, or something). What business of his is it to involve himself in other people's affairs? How does he "make the streets safer" by giving out tickets for extremely minor issues? I'm not much the wordsmith, so I can't quite communicate the point I'd like to get across very clearly... The "specific ticket" he gave me was not appropriate. Do you charge a shoplifter with murder? didn't think so.
28-701. Reasonable and prudent speed; prima facie evidence; exceptions
A. A person shall not drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, conditions and actual and potential hazards then existing. A person shall control the speed of a vehicle as necessary to avoid colliding with any object, person, vehicle or other conveyance on, entering or adjacent to the highway in compliance with legal requirements and the duty of all persons to exercise reasonable care for the protection of others.
this is what I was written up for. Nowhere does it say anything about "following too close." I don't see how a third party can walk up to two vehicles parked on the side of the road, one with damage, the other without, talk to the people involved and conclude that one person's speed was not "in compliance with legal requirements", and that I wasn't "exercising reasonable care for the protection of others". If the law said "don't cause a collision" or "follow at a distance such that you can stop at any time without hitting the vehicle in front of you", I wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on. I recognize that I caused the accident, and if there had been any damage to his truck I would've taken responsibility for it. There was no justification, aside from a profiteering police department, for issuing a ticket in my case. Paying to fix the damage to my car was punishment enough, as someone else pointed out, sometimes things that you never expect to happen will, and an _accident_ will happen... No reason to doubly screw the person over, what with insurance premiums the way they are.
uhh . . . you're looking for sympathy because you were driving to fast, endangering the rest of our lives, hit someone, and got a ticket????
maybe I should... There I was, going 5mph, maybe not paying as much attention as I should have been, when someone got impatient & just turned in front of the car in front of me. So he of course stopped. I slammed on my brakes, but they sucked at the time, and I tapped the back of his truck. To make a long story short, he looked at his truck, saw no damage, and said, "okay, no problem.. I'm willing to drop it if you're willing to drop it." At that instant the "cop who would ticket his own grandmother" (as I later learned from someone else on the force) pulled into the parking lot we were in.
but since I was driving to fast, endangering people's lives lives, and a speeding ticket for 5 in 25mph was cleary warrented (and an appropriate application of the law to boot), I guess there's no sympathy for me.
I've been thinking about what to do the rest of my life (I've completed two years of my CS degree, probably 1.5-2 left to go), and I've given some thought to teaching after I make some money with my degree... I certainly wouldn't be doing it for the money, though, and my mom recently pointed out that if I were to work for a public school, I'd have to go through all sorts of 'teaching certification' bullshit. Which would effectively limit me to teaching at a private school...
if the legal system can't keep up with the times, historically people have always started grass roots movements to overturn the laws.
As i've said before, real change is never asked for, it is always forced... One good example I can think of is prohibition: some people wanted their alcohol, so they brewed it up themselves. eventually "the system" realised that it wasn't worth it, and gave in..
but it's important for people to know whether or not the treatment they're seeking is actually likely to help them. After all, if somebody decides to go to a quack, they may not seek help from somebody who can actually do them some good. ...
I guess I disagree on this point. Debunking quackery is a valid and valuable scientific service. It might not be as great as developing a new treatment, but it's important for people to know whether or not the treatment they're seeking is actually likely to help them. After all, if somebody decides to go to a quack, they may not seek help from somebody who can actually do them some good.
I think that you're really wrong here. The problem is that the advocates of theraputic touch have no science. There's no credible scientific evidence that theraputic touch has any positive health benefit. There are no peer reviewed, placebo controlled, statistically tested, double blind studies to determine the efficacy of theraputic touch. AFAIK there aren't even any lousy, uncontrolled studies, just a bunch of anecdotes. That's not science, it's just a bunch of pseudoscientific garbage with about as much scientific credibility as faith healing.
A year ago I would've been with you, repeating the "uh huh, *cough* bullshit *cough*, I'll just wait until I see a scientific study" rallying cry of the skeptic... I've since learned that it behooves me to refrain from automatically dismissing ideas from the realm of possibility. Progress would be iceberg-slow if every "scientific" advance was contingent on "peer reviewed, placebo controlled, statistically tested, double blind studies." On the contrary, a great number of rapid advances are made in leaps and bounds, which can later be explained using the "scientific method". I don't care that there's no science behind theraputic touch, I only care that in the past it's worked for me (hey, it was free, why not give it a try?).
Unfortunately, however, I feel there is a predisposition in the medical research industry to focus on those diseases which the aging, affluent baby boomers will contract; baldness, impotence, type II diabetes, heart problems, osteoporosis, etc.
It's not a popular idea, but the diseases you mention are considered by some to be diseases of industrialization. Some people believe (and it's been my experience) that health is a function of the quality of food you eat. If you eat your refined white flour, white sugar, sodium benzoate, etc, expect to lose your hair, become impotent, develop adult-onset diabetes, have heart problems, become osteoporotic, etc. Yes, I'll acknowledge that the issues are a lot more complex than just what you eat, but it (food) certainly has a greater impact on health than most people give credit (especially/.'ers, who generally seem to think the HGP and Genetic Engineering is the solution to most problems).
Genetic Engineering: Because 2 billion years of evolution obviously got it wrong.
A currency which is generally accepted throughout the world and which is unlikely to devalue. Examples are the deutschmark, dollar and Swiss franc.
The dollar will be considered "unlikely to devalue" until about five minutes before it becomes worthless. (which may or may not happen in the near or distant future. I merely recognize the possibility.).
[off topic rant] My allegiance lies a lot closer to the tattooed rioters than the 'average citizen'. Having been involved in various 'riots' over the
last fifteen years, I have yet to see a single instance where the protesters spontaneously started attacking cops or property. In each instance,
the police instigated the issue with heavy handed tactics. [end off topic rant]
Individuals who become "police officers" or others responsible for "enforcing the law" generally have some sort of personality defect. This is NOT a Troll. I've heard one say that he wants to kill someone, that "some officers go their entire career without having to shoot someone, I want to get it out of the way and shoot someone's fucking head off." From the same person who expressed sincere aproval for news of the Diallo murder trial not-guilty verdict (5 or so white NYC police officers filled an unarmed black man with at least 50 bullets), as if the whole notion of police officers being put on trial for their actions was a travesty of justice.
Maybe my friend's the only one who's a "bad apple"... I doubt that's the case. Many are police officers because they get to be violent without consequences.
Yes, money used to be based on physical assets. It is no longer that way because people in "government" are afraid of the responsibilities of gold - if you're a politician and you need an extra $100 million for your project, you can't just call up the fusion reactor people and tell them to cook up some gold coins like you could fiat currency from the printing press.
This article talks about the creation of a computerized bater system to enable local economies to strengthen themselves. Such a system would enable your "environment where money is irrelevant," but for a different reason.
I'm (gradually) moving away from using fiat currency myself. E-gold presents a viable alternative to government fiat money systems of the world, and is my payment medium of choice. E-gold isn't perfect, but at least I don't have to rely on the belief that others will find my pieces of paper worth trading for.
...because nature obviously got it wrong. Since we're talking about perfecting nature, I want a body that can live off of High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sodium Benzoate, Caffeine, Sodium Citrate, Gum Arabic, Erythorbic Acid, Calcium Disodium Edta, Brominated Vegetable Oil and Yellow 5. Any vitamins that my Mountain Dew diet is lacking in should be synthesized, and any minerals that I'm not getting should be produced by the organic cold-fussion reactor which will replace my right lung.
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there is absolutely no focus on the science of the equation. The author would have you believe that the equation came about simply by a thought experiment in einstien's head.
Einstein's "thought experiment" (actually a primitive form of Image Streaming) lasted something like 10 years. The equation was just a final step putting all the pictures Einstein had going through his head into mathmatics. Throughout history, revolutionary scientists haven't used the scientific method. My two copies of The Einstein Factor are out on loan, otherwise I'd site specific examples. (Offhand: Tesla, Farraday and others)
You're talking about the methods pioneered by Project Renainssance, among others.
a drastic improvement in how long it takes us to grasp something - check.
how long it takes us to retain and absorb information - check.
Pick up one or two of Win's books (I recommend The Einstein Factor). I'm not sure about your "new, better methods for communicating person-to-person" - maybe you could pioneer methods for developing telepathic skills.
I've been to their offices in Phoenix, I have one of their keyboards. The mouse is cumbersome to use (read: slow), and I don't think it's worth nearly what it's priced at... They say that their next product will be something in an affordable price range, so watch them for future developments.
Slashdot Mirror
projects like fairtunes could use your support.. They don't disturbute a lot of money, but it's exactly what you're looking for.
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So your rocket blows up.. just encase your radioactive waste in something that won't break apart in the explosion and use a submarine to go pick it up & try again.
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my dad had a 1985 VW Golf diesel for a while, I loved driving the thing. If someone was following too close for comfort, I could just upshift, listen to those gerbils roar, and watch as the person behind me suddenly became much less interested in reading my bumper stickers... The huge black cloud of diesel smoke probably had something to do with their sudden change in attitude. :)
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AFAIK, corporations are not the same as individuals in our judicial system:
yeah, it's an old case, but I don't believe it's ever been overturned. If someone says differently, please provide a case site."The individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He is entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no such duty [to submit his books and papers for an examination] to the State, since he receives nothing therefrom, beyond the protection of his life and property. His rights are such as existed by the law of the land [Common Law] long antecedent to the organization of the State, and can only be taken from him by due process of law, and in accordance with the Constitution. Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself, and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under a warrant of the law. He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights.
Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the state. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives certain special privileges and franchises, and holds them subject to the laws of the state and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are only preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation. There is a reserved right in the legislature to investigate its contracts and find out whether it has exceeded its powers. It would be a strange anomaly to hold that a state, having chartered a corporation to make use of certain franchises, could not, in the exercise of its sovereignty, inquire how these franchises had been employed, and whether they had been abused, and demand the production of the corporate books and papers for that purpose. The defense amounts to this: That an officer of a corporation which is charged with a criminal violation of the statute, may plead the criminality of such corporation as a refusal to produce its books. To state this proposition is to answer it. While an individual may lawfully refuse to answer incriminating questions unless protected by an immunity statute, it does not follow that a corporation, vested with special privileges and franchises, may refuse to show its hand when charged with an abuse of such privileges.
Hale vs. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43 at 47 (1906)---
I do have a pair of the exercise balls, and used them rather religiously for a while, at least a month.. While they might have helped a bit, they didn't provide enough relief. Another thing - accupuncture can be great too.. that, and someone else says Carpal Tunnel/RSI results from a chronic intra-cellular magnesium defficiency - this stuff is a great magnesium supplement..
---
One thing that really helped deal with the pain was shoveling my car out of 18 inches of snow. Twice. (damn inconsiderate snow plows. :) I've also found that visiting my local trigger point therapist (random google link) has helped a lot. So, it's exercise and massage therapy if you don't want to be troubled with RSI.
let the flames begin.---
For the foreseeable future, this is true... However, that's no reason not to develop new energy sources. What if something is found along the path to this 'power in the sky' scheme that makes it dirt cheap to get power down from orbit? 20 years of development money seems like a small investment..
---
this was over three years ago, so it's just something to tell people about, and to file away in my library of experience. Funny story about when I did fight it though: On the day of my "trial" (hearing, whatever), I showed up in the courtroom ('cause that's where you're supposed to go when you go to court, right? :), where they were conducting a 'trial by judge' for a guy who'd stolen a $2 watch from Target. The bailiff says to me, "uhm, the prosecutor said this was his last case today." I'm like "wtf?", and walk outside the courtroom to find "my cop" and a judge out in the hallway wondering where I was. Anyways, the courtroom's taken, so we go into a janitorial closet, where they have a table & three chairs set up. (that's the honest-to-god truth, I distinctly remember yellow "caution wet floor" signs off in the corner). I tell my story, the "judge" says, "I don't think you can interpret the law that way, son." (read: gotta teach you a lesson boy, pay up). So I appeal to the superior court, and almost a year later, I show up 15 minutes late to my new "trial". :(. But the superior court kept the paperwork for another 2 years, so the points had nearly expired by the time they finally got reported to the DMV.
---
you may read all of 28-701 here. I was accused of violating section A. My brakes were not pathetic, all I needed was another six inches & I wouldn't have had anything to post on /. about. The point is that one cannot make a decision on a case without having seen it first hand.
furthermore, I find it sadening that you think "the officer was justified in giving [me] a ticket." (sadening in a "shake your head & wonder what's gotten into people's minds these days that they think 'that's what governments are supposed to do'" kinda way, or something). What business of his is it to involve himself in other people's affairs? How does he "make the streets safer" by giving out tickets for extremely minor issues? I'm not much the wordsmith, so I can't quite communicate the point I'd like to get across very clearly... The "specific ticket" he gave me was not appropriate. Do you charge a shoplifter with murder? didn't think so.
---
28-701. Reasonable and prudent speed; prima facie evidence; exceptions
A. A person shall not drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, conditions and actual and potential hazards then existing. A person shall control the speed of a vehicle as necessary to avoid colliding with any object, person, vehicle or other conveyance on, entering or adjacent to the highway in compliance with legal requirements and the duty of all persons to exercise reasonable care for the protection of others.
this is what I was written up for. Nowhere does it say anything about "following too close." I don't see how a third party can walk up to two vehicles parked on the side of the road, one with damage, the other without, talk to the people involved and conclude that one person's speed was not "in compliance with legal requirements", and that I wasn't "exercising reasonable care for the protection of others". If the law said "don't cause a collision" or "follow at a distance such that you can stop at any time without hitting the vehicle in front of you", I wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on. I recognize that I caused the accident, and if there had been any damage to his truck I would've taken responsibility for it. There was no justification, aside from a profiteering police department, for issuing a ticket in my case. Paying to fix the damage to my car was punishment enough, as someone else pointed out, sometimes things that you never expect to happen will, and an _accident_ will happen... No reason to doubly screw the person over, what with insurance premiums the way they are.
---
maybe I should... There I was, going 5mph, maybe not paying as much attention as I should have been, when someone got impatient & just turned in front of the car in front of me. So he of course stopped. I slammed on my brakes, but they sucked at the time, and I tapped the back of his truck. To make a long story short, he looked at his truck, saw no damage, and said, "okay, no problem.. I'm willing to drop it if you're willing to drop it." At that instant the "cop who would ticket his own grandmother" (as I later learned from someone else on the force) pulled into the parking lot we were in.
but since I was driving to fast, endangering people's lives lives, and a speeding ticket for 5 in 25mph was cleary warrented (and an appropriate application of the law to boot), I guess there's no sympathy for me.
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just open an account at a Caribbean bank with an ATM card, read up on money laundering, and you'll be set.
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I've been thinking about what to do the rest of my life (I've completed two years of my CS degree, probably 1.5-2 left to go), and I've given some thought to teaching after I make some money with my degree... I certainly wouldn't be doing it for the money, though, and my mom recently pointed out that if I were to work for a public school, I'd have to go through all sorts of 'teaching certification' bullshit. Which would effectively limit me to teaching at a private school...
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I don't mean to offend anyone when I say this, but how many competent IT people are going to be working for a public school salary?
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As i've said before, real change is never asked for, it is always forced... One good example I can think of is prohibition: some people wanted their alcohol, so they brewed it up themselves. eventually "the system" realised that it wasn't worth it, and gave in..
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uhm, to whom? I'll just claim sovereignty over the moon, and he can pay his taxes to me.
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...
I guess I disagree on this point. Debunking quackery is a valid and valuable scientific service. It might not be as great as developing a new treatment, but it's important for people to know whether or not the treatment they're seeking is actually likely to help them. After all, if somebody decides to go to a quack, they may not seek help from somebody who can actually do them some good. I think that you're really wrong here. The problem is that the advocates of theraputic touch have no science. There's no credible scientific evidence that theraputic touch has any positive health benefit. There are no peer reviewed, placebo controlled, statistically tested, double blind studies to determine the efficacy of theraputic touch. AFAIK there aren't even any lousy, uncontrolled studies, just a bunch of anecdotes. That's not science, it's just a bunch of pseudoscientific garbage with about as much scientific credibility as faith healing.
A year ago I would've been with you, repeating the "uh huh, *cough* bullshit *cough*, I'll just wait until I see a scientific study" rallying cry of the skeptic... I've since learned that it behooves me to refrain from automatically dismissing ideas from the realm of possibility. Progress would be iceberg-slow if every "scientific" advance was contingent on "peer reviewed, placebo controlled, statistically tested, double blind studies." On the contrary, a great number of rapid advances are made in leaps and bounds, which can later be explained using the "scientific method". I don't care that there's no science behind theraputic touch, I only care that in the past it's worked for me (hey, it was free, why not give it a try?).
---
It's not a popular idea, but the diseases you mention are considered by some to be diseases of industrialization. Some people believe (and it's been my experience) that health is a function of the quality of food you eat. If you eat your refined white flour, white sugar, sodium benzoate, etc, expect to lose your hair, become impotent, develop adult-onset diabetes, have heart problems, become osteoporotic, etc. Yes, I'll acknowledge that the issues are a lot more complex than just what you eat, but it (food) certainly has a greater impact on health than most people give credit (especially /.'ers, who generally seem to think the HGP and Genetic Engineering is the solution to most problems).
Genetic Engineering: Because 2 billion years of evolution obviously got it wrong.
---
A currency which is generally accepted throughout the world and which is unlikely to devalue. Examples are the deutschmark, dollar and Swiss franc.
The dollar will be considered "unlikely to devalue" until about five minutes before it becomes worthless. (which may or may not happen in the near or distant future. I merely recognize the possibility.).
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Individuals who become "police officers" or others responsible for "enforcing the law" generally have some sort of personality defect. This is NOT a Troll. I've heard one say that he wants to kill someone, that "some officers go their entire career without having to shoot someone, I want to get it out of the way and shoot someone's fucking head off." From the same person who expressed sincere aproval for news of the Diallo murder trial not-guilty verdict (5 or so white NYC police officers filled an unarmed black man with at least 50 bullets), as if the whole notion of police officers being put on trial for their actions was a travesty of justice.
Maybe my friend's the only one who's a "bad apple"... I doubt that's the case. Many are police officers because they get to be violent without consequences.
---
Yes, money used to be based on physical assets. It is no longer that way because people in "government" are afraid of the responsibilities of gold - if you're a politician and you need an extra $100 million for your project, you can't just call up the fusion reactor people and tell them to cook up some gold coins like you could fiat currency from the printing press.
This article talks about the creation of a computerized bater system to enable local economies to strengthen themselves. Such a system would enable your "environment where money is irrelevant," but for a different reason.
I'm (gradually) moving away from using fiat currency myself. E-gold presents a viable alternative to government fiat money systems of the world, and is my payment medium of choice. E-gold isn't perfect, but at least I don't have to rely on the belief that others will find my pieces of paper worth trading for.
------
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Einstein's "thought experiment" (actually a primitive form of Image Streaming) lasted something like 10 years. The equation was just a final step putting all the pictures Einstein had going through his head into mathmatics. Throughout history, revolutionary scientists haven't used the scientific method. My two copies of The Einstein Factor are out on loan, otherwise I'd site specific examples. (Offhand: Tesla, Farraday and others)
a drastic improvement in how long it takes us to grasp something - check.
how long it takes us to retain and absorb information - check.
Pick up one or two of Win's books (I recommend The Einstein Factor). I'm not sure about your "new, better methods for communicating person-to-person" - maybe you could pioneer methods for developing telepathic skills.
I've been to their offices in Phoenix, I have one of their keyboards. The mouse is cumbersome to use (read: slow), and I don't think it's worth nearly what it's priced at... They say that their next product will be something in an affordable price range, so watch them for future developments.