This would've been the first presidential election that I'm eligible to vote in, however I've decided not to partake. It's fairly obvious that (in all likelyhood) either George W. Bush or Al Gore will be the next "president". I can't stand either one, and none of the 'third party' candidates has a chance in hell of getting more than a single-digit percentage of the vote, what with big labor and other big $$$ contributors supporting either the "democrat" or "republican" presidential candidate.
But my decision not to vote goes deeper than a refusal to support one of two presidential candidates. Were that my only problem with the "democratic" society we have, I'd do some research on issues and candidates, then happily go to the polls and leave the "president" box untouched while selecting my "representatives" and voicing my opinion on whether or not Proposition 10928346671829243746, the Downtown Parking Space Revitalization Tax, should be passed into law. What I am doing by not voting in November is not giving my stamp of approval to the system which oppresses us. People say that if you don't like the way things are, you should "get active", register to vote, become informed about issues, write letters, and run for office. "Don't like the fact that taxes can take over 50% of your hard earned money? *You* have the power to change it! Start a 'I pay to much Tax' campaign, your representatives will listen!" Bullshit. For the last few decades Presidential and Congressional Candidates have campaigned on the platform of making thigs better. I'm still waiting. Four years ago, Republicans said they'd get cut back on pork barrel projects if they controlled congress. Last night the national news said that $$$ spent on pork barrel projects has actually increased. I have better things to do with my time than to decide whether I should vote for the candidate who promises to cut personal income taxes by 3% over the candidate who says that we should instead spend "our tax dollars" on programs to level the playing field for all americans (I have a real problem with that "our" - the money spoken of is either mine or yours, but does not belong to both of us, and the hand of "Government" does not belong in my pocket). I have better things to do with my time than to beg other people to let me keep my money. I decide how to spend my money. I decide what percentage of my money is for charitable causes. I decide to have personal responsibility. I decide not to turn my personal responsibility, my Liberty, over to someone else
The real problem (one which most people are unable to recognize) is that "Government" is largely a fiction that exists in people's minds. What is the difference between the geographic areas of southern Arizona and northern Mexico? If there wasn't a wall, how would you know that you'd just passed from Arizona into Mexico? Sure, there are people with Guns who will say that I'm incorrect, that Government is very real and does exist, and that I'd better pay their "income take" or they'll pay for my vacation at the concrete inn, but how do their threats support their beliefs and make them legitimate?
If there are any moderators left on this thread, they'll probably be inclined to mark this as a "troll" or "flamebait" (especially those with anxious clicker fingers). Revolutionary ideas are always scorned when they first appeared. There are a lot of people who are quite a bit more adept at expressing these sorts of ideas than I, and are skilled at responding to the "but if we didn't have government [insert Bad Thing here] would happen!" replys. The earth used to be considered the center of the universe, and all who said otherwise were suppressed. Women were forced to take an inferior position in society because of their gender. Slaves were once considered inferior to their white "owners". With the passage of time, these three ideas changed from being "facts" to archaic opinions, just as current views on democratic government will pass from progressive to foolish. Contact me if you're interested in some links that further expand on these ideas...
some things to think about:
"Giving money and power to the government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." -- P. J. O'Rourke
"Violence is the final refuge of the incompetent." -- Isaac Asimov
"Freedom is still the most radical idea of all." -- Nathaniel Branden
The Win Wenger/Project Renaisance page is actually *not* hosted by slashdot, but is at http://www.winwenger.com/.. Win Wenger's written 48 books, many on the nature of intelligence. I've only read The Einstein Factor, but found it very interesting. Based on his 35 years of research, he claims that anyone can raise their I.Q. by 20 points in 25 hours.. If it worked for Einstein, it can work for me, right? Anakin's Brain has the full text of two of his books in the Project Renaisance section..
Learn to Image Stream, a technique pioneered by Win Wenger, author of The Einstein Factor. Image streaming strengthens the connections between the neurons in your head (or something like that..) I'm just starting to get the hang of it, but it's a neat process..
Some other sites exploring maximizing the possibility of the human mind:
SUV's have a tendency to roll over (saw two SUV rollover's the other day) and to burst into flames.
Almost a year ago now I hit this '96 Chevy Blazer with my car (1991 Toyota MR2). As you can see from the pictures, the damage was pretty much the opposite of what you'd expect in a collision between a 2500 pound car (MR2) and a 6000 pound car (?? - blazer).. Someone else said something about SUV's roofs caving in.. The roof of this blazer did just that, and you can see it in the polaroid on the right (or in this extra-large 5.5 meg jpeg).
Anyways, the lady was in the process of running a red light when I hit her. Serves her right for talking on her cell phone while driving her "safe" SUV during her commute home. That's what I suspect, anyways, I never got a chance to confirm my suspicions...
Almost everyone who has been through public education in America in the last 50 years or so has, in the process of creating obediant, conformist children, said, "I Pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, (blah, blah, blah)." Pure "Democracy" == Majority rule == Bad Idea.
Second, our government is doing fine. ... everyone knows the government is corrupt... We know we are not free!
FFFish said "Things aren't as charming as you've been brainwashed to believe: you are not free, it is not a democracy, and your government is slowly but surely destroying the Constitution and Bill of Rights." I think you missed his points. You are the victim of a partial brainwashing - you believe you live in freedom, yet you know that all is not well in Wonderland (see above quotes). Maybe today's oppressors allow more freedom than yesterday's, but that doesn't mean that we are magically "free" today. Freedom is the right to Life, Liberty, and the Persuit of Happiness. Most people believe that Liberty is merely the freedom from bodily restraint and the right to free speach and to protest. Liberty is much more than that though...
"... The term Liberty...denotes not merely freedom from bodily restraint, but also the right of the individual to contract, to engage in any of the common occupations of life, to acquire useful knowledge, to marry, to establish a home and bring up children, to worship God according to the dictates of his/her own conscience.. The established doctrine is that this liberty may not be interfered with, under the guise of protecting public interest, by legislative action.." - Meyer V. Nebraska, 262, U.S. 390, 399, 400.
Today many of the "common occupations of life" are interfered with/restricted/prohibited by "government" under the guise of protecting public interest, by legislative action. Drugs, Motoring around in an automobile ("Driver's License"), Sex (Prostitution, etc), Education (compulsory), etc. Sure, sometimes good things can come from a few of these interferances by government into these "common occupations of life," but that cannot justify government taking away my cherished personal liberty. I want to live a life free from terrorist bureaucrats who desire nothing more than to protect me from myself and make sure their rules are followed to the letter.
If you have any comments/questions, feel free to send me some E-mail.
While the upper frequency limit for radio transmission is pretty mushy, there are a few factors that give you diminishing returns as you move beyond single-digit gigahertz:
A while back there was a/. story about Ultra Wideband radio technology. According to Time Domain's webpage, the FCC has recently (May 10, 2000) "adopted a proposal to consider permitting the operation of Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology." If the US government ever decides to stop strangling this technology, there wouldn't be nearly as much of a need to move into the higher gigahertz frequencies.
.. so that congresscritters could indefinitely continue funneling $$$ to their favorite cold-war era aerospace defense contractors. This is also known as "Corporate Wellfare". Wasn't this thing supposed to be done 13 years ago or so?
This project is probably equal or greater in scale to the Manhattan project in it's potential effect on humanity. For the next 50 years, we're going to be worrying how bio-genetics will be misused while reaping the benifits of a new revolutionary technology. I wonder what will be the equivelant of "duck and cover"? Hold your breath for as long as you can?
Sure, having the human genome completely mapped will help devise treatment for illnesses caused by genetic irregularity (such as Sickle-cell anemia). But genes are only one of five causes of disease:
Malnutrition - lack of vitamin C causes scurvy
Germs - the plague, smallpox, and malaria
Genetics - i.e. Sickle-cell anemia
Toxins - lead poisoning, heart disease, some cancers
The Mind
Having the Human Genome to work with will allow researchers to develop treatments/cures to many diseases, but at what cost? At the dawn of the nuclear age, the power of the atom was seen as the solution for all the problems the world faced. Fifty five years later, we are stuck cleaning up the messy legacy that nobody wants. Today's genetic scientists will likely use the genome to devise genetic solutions for health problems, when no genetic problems exist in the first place. What happens when some scientist creates a genetic therapy treatment for Scurvy, when the only "treatment" needed was to pick up an orange at the store?
see this page for some provacative ideas on being healthy...
.. likely means that instead of half-assed linux "support" ("it runs linux, but you'll have to put up with the modem not working at all, and using the dos configuration tools to set hardware up like you want/need"), the whole laptop will support linux. If IBM is going to be selling Thinkpads with Linux, they've probably written a linux driver for that winmodem (or maybe replaced it with a real one?) and some linux configuration tools (to set irq's, memory ranges, etc. for components).
IBM's page on setting up linux on a Thinkpad 600E is availible here (they admit that there is no support for the modem, and say that infrared _might_ work), a "how I installed linux on my 600E" page is here
A lot of people feel the way you do, but it's the wrong way to go about it. You're throwing away what power the system gives you. You can use that power to change the system itself, if you disagree with it.
So are you saying that the only power for change comes from within the system? This seems like a rather.. ignorant (?) statement to me. There are many people who don't vote, yet still work to change the system. These people don't ask for change (or "demand" change) through their vote, they force change through their actions.
The Women's sufferage and Civil Rights movements are two examples of change being demanded... Massive demonstrations put "pressure" on politicians to enact change, eventually the activists got what they wanted.
Prohibition is a very strong example of change being forced. "Government" decided that Alcohol was not going to be consumed in the United States anymore. Many people didn't jive with this, and basically gave the man the finger when he came to take their drinks away. Yes, lots of people were punished for their failure to comply with "the law", but eventually the powers that were had no real choice but to call their war on alcohol off.
Yes, Building Freedom is a lot more difficult & involving than simply going to the polls and voting, but at least you're not relying on someone else to give you the power to make decisions that is rightfully yours.
/. doesn't take kindly to this sort of idea..
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The only purpose of the law is to sufficiently restrict the freedoms of people and organisations enough to keep the ruling body in power. Deluding yourself into thinking otherwise is just plain ignorant. What the law says is irrelevent to anybody who has a true desire for freedom, and of great concern to those who support the suppression of rights in the name of statism.
It's too bad you're posting anonymously, because I would have liked to e-mail you some questions. In any case...
It has been my observation that/. doesn't take well to the "governments aren't good for much" idea. It's been my observation that such posts tend to generate mostly "knee-jerk" responses, sort of an instinctual protection of their mental programming (The State is Good. The State is Loving. The State is to be Protected at All Costs.) Look at some of the responses you have:
The purpose of law is to protect the lives, liberties and properties of people.
Go away, Astroturfer! We don't need you fucks defending Bill Gates here!
Fuck off and die, you Nihilist.
The character portraying the same philosophy you're advocating here gets just as screwed as the idealist. You better hope the idealists win out in the end.
America might have been founded with the ideals mentioned in #1 above, but the purpose of "law" (so called) has evolved since that noble founding into the protection of the ideals and interests of the few.
An example: I was listening to Loveline last night as I drove to Phoenix. One of the first callers was a heroin addict looking for a free detox center. Dr. Drew basically said that there wasn't much availible to someone who didn't have money or insurance to pay for detox. As they exist today, your "laws" classify this person, desiring treatment for an ailment, as a criminal. If "laws" really existed to serve the interests of the people, this person (who desires treatment but cannot afford it) would be classified as someone who sufferes from a disease, and would offer free treatment centers. Instead, the law exists to make politicians look good (Fighting the patriotic War On Drugs), and providing a paycheck for all the people employed to keep drugs out of the hands of the children.
A second example: "Traffic law" (as currently carried out in America) exists primarily as a control method:
driver's license - supposedly exists to make sure that everone knows how to drive a vehicle - "Pull out of the parking space, turn left, right, back into the space. Congratulations, you're now a licensed driver in the State of (insert your state here)." Actually serves as a control mechanism - Requires its holders to report any changes they make in where they live, "privledge" to drive can arbitrarily be suspended (depending on the state, for reasons unrelated to driving).
"National Speed Limit" - Originally instituted to control how much oil people used in their car, later morphed into a safety measure - "55 saves lives" (highway fatalities have droped in states which have reinstitued saner speed limit laws).
Vehicle Registration - Gives "law enforcement officers" an easy way to track their charges (motoring public). Also requires informing the state of where the owner lives.
There's so much I want to say on this topic.. Suffice it to say that I second the idea that what the "law" says is irrelevant to people who love freedom. Anyone who is willing to go to jail for what they believe in (while practicing "Civil disobedience"), even if no parties have suffered damages (such as when DVD's are played with unauthorized Linux DVD software), does not know (or even deserve) freedom.
They trespassed, stole something, got caught speeding, etc.
There's a fundamental difference between the "crimes" you mention above. When a person takes what rightfully belongs to someone else, whoever was the victim has actually suffered a loss. However, when the only crime that same person has committed is driving their motor vehicle faster than some number on a sign, there is no victim. (Of course, having said that, there will always be people who respond with something like, "by exceeding the number that engineers have determined is the maximum safe speed for a given roadway, you're putting others in greater danger, and by doing so, society as a whole is your victim, because someone could potentially suffer a loss." To these people I'm tempted to point out that highway fatalities have steadily fallen ever since the "national speed limit" was repealed, and point out how "traffic tickets" generate a lot of revenue for the issuing agency. However, it's been my experience that most people who take the "speed limits are for obeying" stance have been very strongly programmed with their implanted beliefs (i.e. 55 Saves Lives), and it's pointless to argue with them. but I digress...) Under the system of common law passed down to us from England and in generally used until prohibition (i think) someone had to appear and say "Yes, the defendant caused me injury."
Many, if not most, of the 1.8 million people who are currently held in American jails are really no more than political prisoners, people whose only "crime" is having broken some "law" that was passed by a group of politicians who decided our standard of living could be closer to Utopia if we only removed those people from society at large. It cannot be argued that drug dealers and consumers should be grouped in the same class (criminals) as a murderer, rapist, or child molester (dealers only exist to supply a demand, the act of fulfilling a demand in and of itself cannot be considered a crime).
hey, I only gave the list price (what record companies say people should pay) for those albumns, not what stores actually charge. The point is that record companies sell you a $.50 plastic disc (even less if you produce a lot), put a case and a booklet around it and sell it to you for $12-$18. How much of that money does the store you buy from get? By selling below the list price stores are seriously cutting into their profit margins. How much does the band get? Metallica probably gets more than the average band, having sold few albumns in the past, but most bands get just a small fraction of that $12 you're paying for the cd. The point I was making was that CDs cost a lot, and that I'd be more willing to buy more if I didn't feel I was being raped every time I buy one.
I really don't understand why everyone is so upset about this. My opinion of MP3s aside, Metallica is being stolen from, thanks to Napster.
It's funny that you say Metallica is being stolen from because of Napster. From looking at the list prices on Metallica's albumns, I would think that the consumer is the one whose really being stolen from:
Garage, Inc. list price: $24.97 Master of Puppets list price: $17.97 Kill 'Em ALl list price: $17.97 Ride the Lightning list price: $17.97 S&M list price: $24.97 ReLoad list price: $17.97 Black Albumn list price: $17.97 Load list price: $17.97 Live Shit - Binge & Purge list price: $89.97
True, the producers charge what the consumers will pay, but I'd be a lot more willing to buy a copy of Master of Puppets if they weren't charging $2.25/song (price gouging is also stealing). In one of these Napster/RIAA/MP3 stories someone reminded us that when cds were first released, record companies said prices would eventually drop to about the same level as prices for tapes. It never happened. I do believe in supporting artists (bought a copy of S&M), but the burned copy a friend offered me sounds rather attractive...
'Impulse radio' is a lot more than just an "interesting wireless link," it is a technology that will revolutionize our use of the radio spectrum. Rather than transmitting information as modulations in an analogue radio wave's frequency or amplitude (FM or AM), Time Modulated Ultra Wideband transmits information in RF pulses (called monocylces), positioned with an accuracy of trillionths of a second. It operates with just miliwatts of power, yet signals can be received for over a mile.
I first read about TimeDomain several years ago. The technology sounded pretty much ready to go, but they were being stymied by the vast regulatory bueracracy that is the FCC (selling radio spectrum is a cash cow, and if you were the FCC, would you eagerly antiquate a profitable revenue stream?). TimeDomain was also duking it out with an Alphabet Soup Government agency (one of the national laboratories?) over who had patent rights, those issues have recently been resolved.
There have been some comments about bandwidth congestion - ultrawideband technology will virtually eliminate all such concerns. Sending out around a milliwatt of power, spread over several GHz of bandwidth, makes it difficult to tell the difference between signal and background noise.
You can buy Albums on MD. Just go to Best Buy, they have an album MD section.
If you're looking for a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller or The New Kids on the Block's most recent release, Best Buy is the place to go (based on my experience in Phoenix Arizona). If you want something released in the late 90's, the only place i've found is Sony's Online Store. I haven't looked that hard, though, so there are probably one or two other places to get pre-recorded discs..
You might have mentioned that at $2500, the price for our Thinkpad 600E's was something like $1k less (at the time) than what we would have paid had we purchased from some other laptop retailer. And then there's all the extra software they included, such as MSVC++, Maple & LabView.. I was awarded a lease on this laptop, including replacement with a new machine after two years.
I hate to see a politician stand up at a podium and spout about how our world is at the mercy of "hackers." Or how "dangerous" those damn DoS attacks were a couple of weeks ago.
I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said, when commenting on the lack of progess on revisions to the Articles of the Confederation (don't really know in what context this was said, if anyone out there knows the exact quote please post it or e-mail me), "if we take too much longer putting together this government, people might start to realise that they get along fine without us." If you don't want people to realise that they get along fine without you, you ought to make yourself seem important. Standing on the podium is one way to draw attention to yourself...
Even though I haven't touched a Phantasy Star since II, the first two were so good and so far ahead of their time that I can't help but think highly of the entire series. For anyone who hasn't experienced the majesty that is Phantasy Star, there's a pretty good page with screen shots, tips and spoilers of all the games at The Phantasy Star Pages.
In an old Second Opinion Column, the author points out that the drugs commonly used in the "cocktail therapy" cause patients (victims) to have strokes, heart attacks and suffer liver and kidney damage, and develop "dangerously high cholesterol and diabetes". It is otherwise healthy people, whose only medical problem is having tested HIV positive, who are the major target for these drugs. So I assume when you say "treatments", you are actually refering to the state-endorsed poisons promoted by industrial medicine & governments.
The same guy also had a column about how some hiv-positive mother of two in canada had her children taken away from her because she refused to put her healthy children on AIDS drugs. She's lived for fourteen years without treatment for or complications from her "infection", and had no intention of sentancing her children to death. Then the canadian government (so-called) take the kids and puts them on drugs. They've since started to develop symptoms common to AIDS patients. Go figure.
From the Washington Post article: Elaine Cioffi, 62, saw it differently.
"I just think that children really don't know what's for their own good," she said. "It may not be a really big problem at the library right now or in the future, but why take a chance?"
I'm totally against censorship & all that, but how long will it be until (not if but when) this viewpoint succeeds somewhere?/.ers will never support filters, but we can't expect to reach and convince all the Grandma Cioffi's out there when fighting against the entire "cult of the child" (the "they don't know what's best for them" sentiment).
"On February 22, send a clear message to America. Tell America we must protect our children from Internet pornography and drugs."
Sure... http://www.crackaddictsonline.com/, where your first hit is free!
Another quick fix for wrist/forearm pain
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While working on a final project for a class last semester I spent far too much time straight at the computer. Pain gradually started to build up in my wrists & forearms over christmas break, and when I returned to school I thought I'd have to make some drastic changes in my usage habits. Fortunately I found a site dealing with RSI (repetitive stress injuries), which suggested, among other actions, popping your wrist bones. What worked for me goes as follows:
1. Put your right hand out, palm down. 2. Grab your right hand with your left. 3. Gently rotate your right hand counterclockwise. You'll probably hear/feel a joint in your upper arm pop. 4. Repeat with your left wrist.
After a few weeks, I couldn't pop any joints using this method, and pain in my forearms was greatly reduced. Since then I've been stretching my wrist muscles regularly, and have been occasionally popping my wrist joints by interlocking my fingers & extending an arm, snapping the wrist down. I'm still not completely "cured" of all wrist troubles, but am not nearly as I was...
I'm sorry, but learning ANY kind of abstract communication requires a conciousness. So does self-awareness, for that matter. Awareness of self as an entity is a fundamental requirement for the development of philosophy, art and the concept of personal needs and desires beyond survival and instinct.
The ability to communicate does not in any way require that conciousness exists. When my dog gets hungry, he comes & lets me know. In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (link to overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon) Julian Jaynes says that conciousness is a relatively recent development in human evolution, appearing as recently as 3,000 years ago. Before the development of conciousness humans had a "bicameral mind", where humans were guided by the voices in their heads (we call it schizophrenia today). The bicameral mind can be seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the oldest books of the Bible. The transition to conciousness is seen in the later biblical books.
II What is consciousness?
"It is not to be confused with reactivity. It is not involved in a host of perceptual phenomena. It is not involved in the performance of skills and often hinders their execution. It need not be involved in speaking, writing, listening or reading. It does not copy down experience, as most people think. Consciousness is not at all involved in signal learning and need not be involved in the learning of skills and solutions, which can go on without any consciousness whatever. It is not necessary for making simple judgments or in simple thinking. It is not the seat of reason and indeed some of the most difficult instances of creative reasoning go on without any attending consciousness. And it has no location except an imaginary one" ( Jaynes, J., 1976, The origin of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind. pp46-47).
There are people who say that a perfect virutal reality system already exists in the world of Lucid Dreaming. Lucid dreaming is conciously knowing that you are dreaming while in the dream state, often with the ability to control your dreams. I imagine this truly "virtual" environment would be much more satisfying (and easier to clean up) than this early holodeck...
The Commercial Archive has commercials from Superbowl XXXIII and XXXII, but nothing from tonight. It may be a bit pre-mature to ask this, but does anyone know of an archive of today's commercials (preferably just the good ones)?
Slashdot Mirror
But my decision not to vote goes deeper than a refusal to support one of two presidential candidates. Were that my only problem with the "democratic" society we have, I'd do some research on issues and candidates, then happily go to the polls and leave the "president" box untouched while selecting my "representatives" and voicing my opinion on whether or not Proposition 10928346671829243746, the Downtown Parking Space Revitalization Tax, should be passed into law. What I am doing by not voting in November is not giving my stamp of approval to the system which oppresses us. People say that if you don't like the way things are, you should "get active", register to vote, become informed about issues, write letters, and run for office. "Don't like the fact that taxes can take over 50% of your hard earned money? *You* have the power to change it! Start a 'I pay to much Tax' campaign, your representatives will listen!" Bullshit. For the last few decades Presidential and Congressional Candidates have campaigned on the platform of making thigs better. I'm still waiting. Four years ago, Republicans said they'd get cut back on pork barrel projects if they controlled congress. Last night the national news said that $$$ spent on pork barrel projects has actually increased. I have better things to do with my time than to decide whether I should vote for the candidate who promises to cut personal income taxes by 3% over the candidate who says that we should instead spend "our tax dollars" on programs to level the playing field for all americans (I have a real problem with that "our" - the money spoken of is either mine or yours, but does not belong to both of us, and the hand of "Government" does not belong in my pocket). I have better things to do with my time than to beg other people to let me keep my money. I decide how to spend my money. I decide what percentage of my money is for charitable causes. I decide to have personal responsibility. I decide not to turn my personal responsibility, my Liberty, over to someone else
The real problem (one which most people are unable to recognize) is that "Government" is largely a fiction that exists in people's minds. What is the difference between the geographic areas of southern Arizona and northern Mexico? If there wasn't a wall, how would you know that you'd just passed from Arizona into Mexico? Sure, there are people with Guns who will say that I'm incorrect, that Government is very real and does exist, and that I'd better pay their "income take" or they'll pay for my vacation at the concrete inn, but how do their threats support their beliefs and make them legitimate?
If there are any moderators left on this thread, they'll probably be inclined to mark this as a "troll" or "flamebait" (especially those with anxious clicker fingers). Revolutionary ideas are always scorned when they first appeared. There are a lot of people who are quite a bit more adept at expressing these sorts of ideas than I, and are skilled at responding to the "but if we didn't have government [insert Bad Thing here] would happen!" replys. The earth used to be considered the center of the universe, and all who said otherwise were suppressed. Women were forced to take an inferior position in society because of their gender. Slaves were once considered inferior to their white "owners". With the passage of time, these three ideas changed from being "facts" to archaic opinions, just as current views on democratic government will pass from progressive to foolish. Contact me if you're interested in some links that further expand on these ideas...
some things to think about:
"Giving money and power to the government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." -- P. J. O'Rourke
"Violence is the final refuge of the incompetent." -- Isaac Asimov
"Freedom is still the most radical idea of all." -- Nathaniel Branden
The Win Wenger/Project Renaisance page is actually *not* hosted by slashdot, but is at http://www.winwenger.com/.. Win Wenger's written 48 books, many on the nature of intelligence. I've only read The Einstein Factor, but found it very interesting. Based on his 35 years of research, he claims that anyone can raise their I.Q. by 20 points in 25 hours.. If it worked for Einstein, it can work for me, right? Anakin's Brain has the full text of two of his books in the Project Renaisance section..
Some other sites exploring maximizing the possibility of the human mind:
Almost a year ago now I hit this '96 Chevy Blazer with my car (1991 Toyota MR2). As you can see from the pictures, the damage was pretty much the opposite of what you'd expect in a collision between a 2500 pound car (MR2) and a 6000 pound car (?? - blazer).. Someone else said something about SUV's roofs caving in.. The roof of this blazer did just that, and you can see it in the polaroid on the right (or in this extra-large 5.5 meg jpeg).
Anyways, the lady was in the process of running a red light when I hit her. Serves her right for talking on her cell phone while driving her "safe" SUV during her commute home. That's what I suspect, anyways, I never got a chance to confirm my suspicions...
Almost everyone who has been through public education in America in the last 50 years or so has, in the process of creating obediant, conformist children, said, "I Pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, (blah, blah, blah)." Pure "Democracy" == Majority rule == Bad Idea.
Second, our government is doing fine.
everyone knows the government is corrupt
FFFish said "Things aren't as charming as you've been brainwashed to believe: you are not free, it is not a democracy, and your government is slowly but surely destroying the Constitution and Bill of Rights." I think you missed his points. You are the victim of a partial brainwashing - you believe you live in freedom, yet you know that all is not well in Wonderland (see above quotes). Maybe today's oppressors allow more freedom than yesterday's, but that doesn't mean that we are magically "free" today. Freedom is the right to Life, Liberty, and the Persuit of Happiness. Most people believe that Liberty is merely the freedom from bodily restraint and the right to free speach and to protest. Liberty is much more than that though...
"... The term Liberty...denotes not merely freedom from bodily restraint, but also the right of the individual to contract, to engage in any of the common occupations of life, to acquire useful knowledge, to marry, to establish a home and bring up children, to worship God according to the dictates of his/her own conscience.. The established doctrine is that this liberty may not be interfered with, under the guise of protecting public interest, by legislative action.."
- Meyer V. Nebraska, 262, U.S. 390, 399, 400.
Today many of the "common occupations of life" are interfered with/restricted/prohibited by "government" under the guise of protecting public interest, by legislative action. Drugs, Motoring around in an automobile ("Driver's License"), Sex (Prostitution, etc), Education (compulsory), etc. Sure, sometimes good things can come from a few of these interferances by government into these "common occupations of life," but that cannot justify government taking away my cherished personal liberty. I want to live a life free from terrorist bureaucrats who desire nothing more than to protect me from myself and make sure their rules are followed to the letter.
If you have any comments/questions, feel free to send me some E-mail.
A while back there was a /. story about Ultra Wideband radio technology. According to Time Domain's webpage, the FCC has recently (May 10, 2000) "adopted a proposal to consider permitting the operation of Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology." If the US government ever decides to stop strangling this technology, there wouldn't be nearly as much of a need to move into the higher gigahertz frequencies.
Yahoo's Ultra Wideband category..
.. so that congresscritters could indefinitely continue funneling $$$ to their favorite cold-war era aerospace defense contractors. This is also known as "Corporate Wellfare". Wasn't this thing supposed to be done 13 years ago or so?
Sure, having the human genome completely mapped will help devise treatment for illnesses caused by genetic irregularity (such as Sickle-cell anemia). But genes are only one of five causes of disease:
Having the Human Genome to work with will allow researchers to develop treatments/cures to many diseases, but at what cost? At the dawn of the nuclear age, the power of the atom was seen as the solution for all the problems the world faced. Fifty five years later, we are stuck cleaning up the messy legacy that nobody wants. Today's genetic scientists will likely use the genome to devise genetic solutions for health problems, when no genetic problems exist in the first place. What happens when some scientist creates a genetic therapy treatment for Scurvy, when the only "treatment" needed was to pick up an orange at the store?
see this page for some provacative ideas on being healthy...
IBM's page on setting up linux on a Thinkpad 600E is availible here (they admit that there is no support for the modem, and say that infrared _might_ work), a "how I installed linux on my 600E" page is here
So are you saying that the only power for change comes from within the system? This seems like a rather .. ignorant (?) statement to me. There are many people who don't vote, yet still work to change the system. These people don't ask for change (or "demand" change) through their vote, they force change through their actions.
Yes, Building Freedom is a lot more difficult & involving than simply going to the polls and voting, but at least you're not relying on someone else to give you the power to make decisions that is rightfully yours.
It's too bad you're posting anonymously, because I would have liked to e-mail you some questions. In any case...
It has been my observation that /. doesn't take well to the "governments aren't good for much" idea. It's been my observation that such posts tend to generate mostly "knee-jerk" responses, sort of an instinctual protection of their mental programming (The State is Good. The State is Loving. The State is to be Protected at All Costs.) Look at some of the responses you have:
America might have been founded with the ideals mentioned in #1 above, but the purpose of "law" (so called) has evolved since that noble founding into the protection of the ideals and interests of the few.
An example: I was listening to Loveline last night as I drove to Phoenix. One of the first callers was a heroin addict looking for a free detox center. Dr. Drew basically said that there wasn't much availible to someone who didn't have money or insurance to pay for detox. As they exist today, your "laws" classify this person, desiring treatment for an ailment, as a criminal. If "laws" really existed to serve the interests of the people, this person (who desires treatment but cannot afford it) would be classified as someone who sufferes from a disease, and would offer free treatment centers. Instead, the law exists to make politicians look good (Fighting the patriotic War On Drugs), and providing a paycheck for all the people employed to keep drugs out of the hands of the children.
A second example: "Traffic law" (as currently carried out in America) exists primarily as a control method:
There's so much I want to say on this topic.. Suffice it to say that I second the idea that what the "law" says is irrelevant to people who love freedom. Anyone who is willing to go to jail for what they believe in (while practicing "Civil disobedience"), even if no parties have suffered damages (such as when DVD's are played with unauthorized Linux DVD software), does not know (or even deserve) freedom.
There's a fundamental difference between the "crimes" you mention above. When a person takes what rightfully belongs to someone else, whoever was the victim has actually suffered a loss. However, when the only crime that same person has committed is driving their motor vehicle faster than some number on a sign, there is no victim. (Of course, having said that, there will always be people who respond with something like, "by exceeding the number that engineers have determined is the maximum safe speed for a given roadway, you're putting others in greater danger, and by doing so, society as a whole is your victim, because someone could potentially suffer a loss." To these people I'm tempted to point out that highway fatalities have steadily fallen ever since the "national speed limit" was repealed, and point out how "traffic tickets" generate a lot of revenue for the issuing agency. However, it's been my experience that most people who take the "speed limits are for obeying" stance have been very strongly programmed with their implanted beliefs (i.e. 55 Saves Lives), and it's pointless to argue with them. but I digress...) Under the system of common law passed down to us from England and in generally used until prohibition (i think) someone had to appear and say "Yes, the defendant caused me injury."
Many, if not most, of the 1.8 million people who are currently held in American jails are really no more than political prisoners, people whose only "crime" is having broken some "law" that was passed by a group of politicians who decided our standard of living could be closer to Utopia if we only removed those people from society at large. It cannot be argued that drug dealers and consumers should be grouped in the same class (criminals) as a murderer, rapist, or child molester (dealers only exist to supply a demand, the act of fulfilling a demand in and of itself cannot be considered a crime).
hey, I only gave the list price (what record companies say people should pay) for those albumns, not what stores actually charge. The point is that record companies sell you a $.50 plastic disc (even less if you produce a lot), put a case and a booklet around it and sell it to you for $12-$18. How much of that money does the store you buy from get? By selling below the list price stores are seriously cutting into their profit margins. How much does the band get? Metallica probably gets more than the average band, having sold few albumns in the past, but most bands get just a small fraction of that $12 you're paying for the cd. The point I was making was that CDs cost a lot, and that I'd be more willing to buy more if I didn't feel I was being raped every time I buy one.
It's funny that you say Metallica is being stolen from because of Napster. From looking at the list prices on Metallica's albumns, I would think that the consumer is the one whose really being stolen from:
Garage, Inc. list price: $24.97
Master of Puppets list price: $17.97 Kill 'Em ALl list price: $17.97
Ride the Lightning list price: $17.97
S&M list price: $24.97
ReLoad list price: $17.97
Black Albumn list price: $17.97
Load list price: $17.97
Live Shit - Binge & Purge list price: $89.97
True, the producers charge what the consumers will pay, but I'd be a lot more willing to buy a copy of Master of Puppets if they weren't charging $2.25/song (price gouging is also stealing). In one of these Napster/RIAA/MP3 stories someone reminded us that when cds were first released, record companies said prices would eventually drop to about the same level as prices for tapes. It never happened. I do believe in supporting artists (bought a copy of S&M), but the burned copy a friend offered me sounds rather attractive...
'Impulse radio' is a lot more than just an "interesting wireless link," it is a technology that will revolutionize our use of the radio spectrum. Rather than transmitting information as modulations in an analogue radio wave's frequency or amplitude (FM or AM), Time Modulated Ultra Wideband transmits information in RF pulses (called monocylces), positioned with an accuracy of trillionths of a second. It operates with just miliwatts of power, yet signals can be received for over a mile.
I first read about TimeDomain several years ago. The technology sounded pretty much ready to go, but they were being stymied by the vast regulatory bueracracy that is the FCC (selling radio spectrum is a cash cow, and if you were the FCC, would you eagerly antiquate a profitable revenue stream?). TimeDomain was also duking it out with an Alphabet Soup Government agency (one of the national laboratories?) over who had patent rights, those issues have recently been resolved.
There have been some comments about bandwidth congestion - ultrawideband technology will virtually eliminate all such concerns. Sending out around a milliwatt of power, spread over several GHz of bandwidth, makes it difficult to tell the difference between signal and background noise.
Some usefull links:TimeDomain's homepage - http://www.time-domain.com/t ime.html
The Ultra Wideband Working Group site - http://www.uwb.org/
NY Times Article (1998) - http://www.n ytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/biztech/articles/21
Time Domain's Coverage in national media - http://www.time-domain.com/news/newss ect.html
If you're looking for a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller or The New Kids on the Block's most recent release, Best Buy is the place to go (based on my experience in Phoenix Arizona). If you want something released in the late 90's, the only place i've found is Sony's Online Store. I haven't looked that hard, though, so there are probably one or two other places to get pre-recorded discs..
You might have mentioned that at $2500, the price for our Thinkpad 600E's was something like $1k less (at the time) than what we would have paid had we purchased from some other laptop retailer. And then there's all the extra software they included, such as MSVC++, Maple & LabView.. I was awarded a lease on this laptop, including replacement with a new machine after two years.
I hate to see a politician stand up at a podium and spout about how our world is at the mercy of "hackers." Or how "dangerous" those damn DoS attacks were a couple of weeks ago.
I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said, when commenting on the lack of progess on revisions to the Articles of the Confederation (don't really know in what context this was said, if anyone out there knows the exact quote please post it or e-mail me), "if we take too much longer putting together this government, people might start to realise that they get along fine without us." If you don't want people to realise that they get along fine without you, you ought to make yourself seem important. Standing on the podium is one way to draw attention to yourself...
Even though I haven't touched a Phantasy Star since II, the first two were so good and so far ahead of their time that I can't help but think highly of the entire series. For anyone who hasn't experienced the majesty that is Phantasy Star, there's a pretty good page with screen shots, tips and spoilers of all the games at The Phantasy Star Pages.
In an old Second Opinion Column, the author points out that the drugs commonly used in the "cocktail therapy" cause patients (victims) to have strokes, heart attacks and suffer liver and kidney damage, and develop "dangerously high cholesterol and diabetes". It is otherwise healthy people, whose only medical problem is having tested HIV positive, who are the major target for these drugs. So I assume when you say "treatments", you are actually refering to the state-endorsed poisons promoted by industrial medicine & governments.
The same guy also had a column about how some hiv-positive mother of two in canada had her children taken away from her because she refused to put her healthy children on AIDS drugs. She's lived for fourteen years without treatment for or complications from her "infection", and had no intention of sentancing her children to death. Then the canadian government (so-called) take the kids and puts them on drugs. They've since started to develop symptoms common to AIDS patients. Go figure.
Elaine Cioffi, 62, saw it differently.
"I just think that children really don't know what's for their own good," she said. "It may not be a really big problem at the library right now or in the future, but why take a chance?"
I'm totally against censorship & all that, but how long will it be until (not if but when) this viewpoint succeeds somewhere? /.ers will never support filters, but we can't expect to reach and convince all the Grandma Cioffi's out there when fighting against the entire "cult of the child" (the "they don't know what's best for them" sentiment).
"On February 22, send a clear message to America. Tell America we must protect our children from Internet pornography and drugs."Sure... http://www.crackaddictsonline.com/, where your first hit is free!
While working on a final project for a class last semester I spent far too much time straight at the computer. Pain gradually started to build up in my wrists & forearms over christmas break, and when I returned to school I thought I'd have to make some drastic changes in my usage habits. Fortunately I found a site dealing with RSI (repetitive stress injuries), which suggested, among other actions, popping your wrist bones. What worked for me goes as follows:
1. Put your right hand out, palm down. 2. Grab your right hand with your left. 3. Gently rotate your right hand counterclockwise. You'll probably hear/feel a joint in your upper arm pop. 4. Repeat with your left wrist.
After a few weeks, I couldn't pop any joints using this method, and pain in my forearms was greatly reduced. Since then I've been stretching my wrist muscles regularly, and have been occasionally popping my wrist joints by interlocking my fingers & extending an arm, snapping the wrist down. I'm still not completely "cured" of all wrist troubles, but am not nearly as I was...
I'm sorry, but learning ANY kind of abstract communication requires a conciousness. So does self-awareness, for that matter. Awareness of self as an entity is a fundamental requirement for the development of philosophy, art and the concept of personal needs and desires beyond survival and instinct.
The ability to communicate does not in any way require that conciousness exists. When my dog gets hungry, he comes & lets me know. In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (link to overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon) Julian Jaynes says that conciousness is a relatively recent development in human evolution, appearing as recently as 3,000 years ago. Before the development of conciousness humans had a "bicameral mind", where humans were guided by the voices in their heads (we call it schizophrenia today). The bicameral mind can be seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the oldest books of the Bible. The transition to conciousness is seen in the later biblical books.
II What is consciousness?
"It is not to be confused with reactivity. It is not involved in a host of perceptual phenomena. It is not involved in the performance of skills and often hinders their execution. It need not be involved in speaking, writing, listening or reading. It does not copy down experience, as most people think. Consciousness is not at all involved in signal learning and need not be involved in the learning of skills and solutions, which can go on without any consciousness whatever. It is not necessary for making simple judgments or in simple thinking. It is not the seat of reason and indeed some of the most difficult instances of creative reasoning go on without any attending consciousness. And it has no location except an imaginary one" ( Jaynes, J., 1976, The origin of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind. pp46-47).
There are people who say that a perfect virutal reality system already exists in the world of Lucid Dreaming. Lucid dreaming is conciously knowing that you are dreaming while in the dream state, often with the ability to control your dreams. I imagine this truly "virtual" environment would be much more satisfying (and easier to clean up) than this early holodeck...
The Commercial Archive has commercials from Superbowl XXXIII and XXXII, but nothing from tonight. It may be a bit pre-mature to ask this, but does anyone know of an archive of today's commercials (preferably just the good ones)?