"You must not remember the days when everybody loved that scrappy upstate Bill Gates."
I have been in this business since the late 1970's, and I can't remember a day when anyone loved Bill Gates. I, and most of my colleagues, thought he was a grasping self-promoting, devious, backstabbing asshole from day 1, from MBASIC on.
There have been zero proofs of anything regarding abiogenesis. Lots of speculation. Nothing is satisfactorily answered. In what way is life evolving from "outside" more probable than life evolving from a "giant organic soup"? I'm not saying it is or isn't - I'm saying we don't know jack about it. And not that "giant organic soup" is the only earth-bound model.
It seems to me that life originated right here on Terra, but I sure as hell can't prove it. But I see no reason to look to comets or panspermia or whatever. Occam's Razor, and all that. The early days of Terra provided some pretty exotic environments that could probably get the job done. Or, IMO, evidently got the job done.
It's my opinion that we don't know nearly enough about abiogenesis to go making claims like this. We simply don't know how life/replicators/whatever originated to go assigning goofy probabilities. But it makes for a snappy headline.
I heartily agree. I believe that Windows 2000 will be seen as the pinnacle of Windows. I've been running it since, well, 2000, and although I have tried all the Windows and Linuxes since, it is my favorite. Fast, stable, relatively light on resources, etc.
I've never found an app that I cared about (well, at least a Windows app) that wouldn't run on it. No IE7 - big deal, I use Firefox.
Notwithstanding claims that Linux is great for getting value from old machines, a modern Linux with Gnome or KDE is a dog on my old computer, where Windows 2000 is snappy and nimble. I don't blame Linux - a 2007 version of an OS has different hardware expectations than a 2000 OS. I just happen to have 2000 computer:-)
When something comes along that I really want that really needs something beyond Win2K, or this rig flames out and I buy a new one, I will probably head for Linux. I can't see myself doing Vista...
1) it ain't SciFi 2) it is based in solid physics and economics."
And utterly pie-in-the-sky engineering. Actually, the economics are total bullshit as well. There is an incredible amount of hand-waving over some really, really tricky stuff.
Sure, it's physically, tecnnically, theoretically possible to have a space colony, in a way, but let's see a working model of a mass driver on the Moon sending moon regolith out to some receiving unit that will process it into space colony materials, and hordes of robots assembling it into said colony.
"And if we had a million billion dollars and a pony, we could fly off to Candyland and have the faeries protect us!"
Hold on, just what are you saying here? I was sort of countin' on the faeries to save our sorry asses! Are you saying you don't believe that the faeries will protect us?
"If we can get self-sustaining colonies running on the moon and mars, perhaps we can worry a little less about life-ending-events, like meteor strikes, on earth. "
Yes, because let's face it, we're all just living in mortal fear of meteor strikes.
Look, when we figure out how to live on this planet without trashing it, that will be time to worry about meteor strikes and colonizing other places. No matter what happens to Earth in the next few centuries (including global meltdown, nuclear holocaust, even a meteor strike, whatever), it will still be a far easier place to be "self-sustaining" than the Moon or Mars will ever be.
Can't graduate until you pass that ol' final exam. We need to do some serious studying...
What is this "neo-Luddite" crap? We're talking about simple courtesy. It really sucks to just get shut off by someone because their fucking cell phone rings. Pardon my discourtesy (he said politely), but you are an ass for using this "neo-Luddite" term.
Some of us do not live to serve our fucking machines. Getting desensitized to it is not a positive - just one more step down the trail of dehumanization.
Once saw an interview with Harrison Ford re: Indiana Jones. The Interviewer asked him how his hat stayed on during all the action. Ford, with a completely deadpan delivery, said, "carpet tacks".
With all due respect, Cremo is a wack-job^H^H^H rather fringe figure, and not really a credible archaeologist. He's a student of Indian religion, and believes in a "Vedic" theory of the origins of life vs. Evolution. I.e., scriptural revelation.
His articles are published in magazines like "Atlantis Rising" and "Back to Godhead", and he wrote chapters for the classic "Chant and Be Happy!".
Science is not perfect, nor complete, nor will it ever be. But talking about "all the dishonesty in science", and using that as an excuse to believe whatever ancient astronaut fantasies you find titillating, can not be taken seriously.
The notion that we understand atmospheric chemistry, the relationship of the solar budget to the global ecosystem, and the dynamics of ocean ecosystems of our planet to the point where we can glibly talk about spewing sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere, orbiting mirrors, and dumping iron in the oceans is lunacy of the highest order. It is insanity. It is wack-job techno-hubris of laughable proportions.
Have we learned nothing about complexity, feedbacks, unintended consequences? Searing acid rain, gigantic mid-ocean dead zones, massive ecosystem disequilibrium...
In any case, who would have authority to implement this idiocy?
Sorry, we need to finally face reality, not jerk off to these techno-fantasies. This kind of thinking is a very dangerous distraction...
"My biggest dislike is that opera sounds like screaming. I generally don't like vibrato and people yelling very wide vibrato seals the deal."
Amen to that! My grandfather managed several opera "stars" back in the 40's - 60's (for Columbia Artists Management), and while I love all kinds of "classical" music, opera has always left me cold. I told my grandpa that it all sounded like bellows and shrieks to me. He cracked up laughing, and said he was thinking about starting a management partnership called "Bellows and Shrieks" and having business cards made up.
To this day, I still don't "get" operatic vocal stylings, though I love some of the music.
Yes, it's just a laugh a minute in Gitmo. Life in the 6x6 chainlink fence kennel is just a ball. No problem, you get 2 hours a day to stretch your legs. And the poor American taxpayer, imagine having to provide a rug! Of course, it's no fucking problem coughing up $2 BILLION a week for a fucking retarded worse-than-useless war that can have no positive outcome for anyone. That has killed 3000 US soldiers and maimed a hell of a lot more. That has destroyed whatever moral highground the US still had, and has served to galvanize hatred for the US all over the world.
Let's not forget that most of these pampered pets (or "pieces of shit" - whatever) at Gitmo have had no charges brought against them, and were simply sold to "Coalition" forces for the bounty. We damn well better feed 'em and give 'em a rug. The whole thing is a shame and disgrace to our country.
I don't know if you were serious, but to the extent that you were, you are no patriot. You are, in fact, a fact-twisting, lying, sack of shit asshole. Just like your neocon buddies in Washington.
Give us all a break with your bullshit. We got it already - you love Bush...you don't HAVE to allow your blind worship of that moron to absolutely warp your small mind.
Well said, indeed. That was just about one of the most clear-headed, straightforward, and unpretentious posts that I've ever read on the ol'/. I am seriously considering giving Linspire a try!
"But until we have a space elevator or anti-gravity, riding an explosion of chemicals to orbit is the best system we got."
Or have a bunch of launch engineers gather around meditating, and mentally levitate the payload into orbit. A similar probability of happening:-)
All kidding aside, what ARE we supposed to do to get stuff into orbit more efficiently/effectively/inexpensively in the medium term? Because I don't see space elevators happening for a long, long time, if ever. And anti-gravity is a pipe-dream. Unless we reverse engineer one of them crashed UFO's they've got stashed at Area 51. Hmmm...
Developing new antibiotics to stay one step ahead (or only one step behind)of constantly evolving bacteria seems fruitless. How about reversing that dynamic?
There must be a rather large number of antibiotics available - how about a scheduled rotation from compound to compound over the years, so that it's the bacteria have to hit the moving target, instead of us. I.e., in 2006 we use these 6 antibiotics, in 2008 we all shift to these 6, etc., etc. Presumably the bacteria won't have time to become resistant, or, even if they do, they will have lost their resistance by the time you came back around to the beginning of your cycle. Meanwhile, you can still develop new antibiotics.
I suppose it would require an international agreement and the logistics are probably impossible, but it seems like a sensible thing to try.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, after all, since making a difficult-ish long tunnel was achieved, ANYTHING AT ALL is possible and feasible.
"You must not remember the days when everybody loved that scrappy upstate Bill Gates."
I have been in this business since the late 1970's, and I can't remember a day when anyone loved Bill Gates. I, and most of my colleagues, thought he was a grasping self-promoting, devious, backstabbing asshole from day 1, from MBASIC on.
Who the hell cares about Chuck Norris? What the hell is this doing on Slashdot? This is ridiculous.
I agree, Quadraginta. This is very difficult stuff to do... this is actual reality, not virtual reality.
... or something like that, maybe. A stroke, whatever. That's all it would take to take it down. I hope not, though - I hope he's OK somewhere.
There have been zero proofs of anything regarding abiogenesis. Lots of speculation. Nothing is satisfactorily answered. In what way is life evolving from "outside" more probable than life evolving from a "giant organic soup"? I'm not saying it is or isn't - I'm saying we don't know jack about it. And not that "giant organic soup" is the only earth-bound model.
It seems to me that life originated right here on Terra, but I sure as hell can't prove it. But I see no reason to look to comets or panspermia or whatever. Occam's Razor, and all that. The early days of Terra provided some pretty exotic environments that could probably get the job done. Or, IMO, evidently got the job done.
Whatever.
It's my opinion that we don't know nearly enough about abiogenesis to go making claims like this. We simply don't know how life/replicators/whatever originated to go assigning goofy probabilities. But it makes for a snappy headline.
Whatever.
"I think you're describing Windows 2000...
:-)
Personally, I like that one the best."
I heartily agree. I believe that Windows 2000 will be seen as the pinnacle of Windows. I've been running it since, well, 2000, and although I have tried all the Windows and Linuxes since, it is my favorite. Fast, stable, relatively light on resources, etc.
I've never found an app that I cared about (well, at least a Windows app) that wouldn't run on it. No IE7 - big deal, I use Firefox.
Notwithstanding claims that Linux is great for getting value from old machines, a modern Linux with Gnome or KDE is a dog on my old computer, where Windows 2000 is snappy and nimble. I don't blame Linux - a 2007 version of an OS has different hardware expectations than a 2000 OS. I just happen to have 2000 computer
When something comes along that I really want that really needs something beyond Win2K, or this rig flames out and I buy a new one, I will probably head for Linux. I can't see myself doing Vista...
"hoodie hamsters"
Isn't that the code name for an upcoming Ubuntu release?
Where are my mod points when I need them?
+1 Funny
"The High Frontier, by Gerard K. O'Neill.
1) it ain't SciFi 2) it is based in solid physics and economics."
And utterly pie-in-the-sky engineering. Actually, the economics are total bullshit as well. There is an incredible amount of hand-waving over some really, really tricky stuff.
Sure, it's physically, tecnnically, theoretically possible to have a space colony, in a way, but let's see a working model of a mass driver on the Moon sending moon regolith out to some receiving unit that will process it into space colony materials, and hordes of robots assembling it into said colony.
Yeah, sure. What a crock.
Maybe some day. But it's way to early now.
"And if we had a million billion dollars and a pony, we could fly off to Candyland and have the faeries protect us!"
Hold on, just what are you saying here? I was sort of countin' on the faeries to save our sorry asses! Are you saying you don't believe that the faeries will protect us?
"If we can get self-sustaining colonies running on the moon and mars, perhaps we can worry a little less about life-ending-events, like meteor strikes, on earth. "
Yes, because let's face it, we're all just living in mortal fear of meteor strikes.
Look, when we figure out how to live on this planet without trashing it, that will be time to worry about meteor strikes and colonizing other places. No matter what happens to Earth in the next few centuries (including global meltdown, nuclear holocaust, even a meteor strike, whatever), it will still be a far easier place to be "self-sustaining" than the Moon or Mars will ever be.
Can't graduate until you pass that ol' final exam. We need to do some serious studying...
The challenge is right here and now.
What is this "neo-Luddite" crap? We're talking about simple courtesy. It really sucks to just get shut off by someone because their fucking cell phone rings. Pardon my discourtesy (he said politely), but you are an ass for using this "neo-Luddite" term.
Some of us do not live to serve our fucking machines. Getting desensitized to it is not a positive - just one more step down the trail of dehumanization.
Once saw an interview with Harrison Ford re: Indiana Jones. The Interviewer asked him how his hat stayed on during all the action. Ford, with a completely deadpan delivery, said, "carpet tacks".
With all due respect, Cremo is a wack-job^H^H^H rather fringe figure, and not really a credible archaeologist. He's a student of Indian religion, and believes in a "Vedic" theory of the origins of life vs. Evolution. I.e., scriptural revelation.
His articles are published in magazines like "Atlantis Rising" and "Back to Godhead", and he wrote chapters for the classic "Chant and Be Happy!".
Science is not perfect, nor complete, nor will it ever be. But talking about "all the dishonesty in science", and using that as an excuse to believe whatever ancient astronaut fantasies you find titillating, can not be taken seriously.
The notion that we understand atmospheric chemistry, the relationship of the solar budget to the global ecosystem, and the dynamics of ocean ecosystems of our planet to the point where we can glibly talk about spewing sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere, orbiting mirrors, and dumping iron in the oceans is lunacy of the highest order. It is insanity. It is wack-job techno-hubris of laughable proportions.
Have we learned nothing about complexity, feedbacks, unintended consequences? Searing acid rain, gigantic mid-ocean dead zones, massive ecosystem disequilibrium...
In any case, who would have authority to implement this idiocy?
Sorry, we need to finally face reality, not jerk off to these techno-fantasies. This kind of thinking is a very dangerous distraction...
"My biggest dislike is that opera sounds like screaming. I generally don't like vibrato and people yelling very wide vibrato seals the deal."
Amen to that! My grandfather managed several opera "stars" back in the 40's - 60's (for Columbia Artists Management), and while I love all kinds of "classical" music, opera has always left me cold. I told my grandpa that it all sounded like bellows and shrieks to me. He cracked up laughing, and said he was thinking about starting a management partnership called "Bellows and Shrieks" and having business cards made up.
To this day, I still don't "get" operatic vocal stylings, though I love some of the music.
- sgage
OK, bucky, I know you're trolling, but I'll bite:
Yes, it's just a laugh a minute in Gitmo. Life in the 6x6 chainlink fence kennel is just a ball. No problem, you get 2 hours a day to stretch your legs. And the poor American taxpayer, imagine having to provide a rug! Of course, it's no fucking problem coughing up $2 BILLION a week for a fucking retarded worse-than-useless war that can have no positive outcome for anyone. That has killed 3000 US soldiers and maimed a hell of a lot more. That has destroyed whatever moral highground the US still had, and has served to galvanize hatred for the US all over the world.
Let's not forget that most of these pampered pets (or "pieces of shit" - whatever) at Gitmo have had no charges brought against them, and were simply sold to "Coalition" forces for the bounty. We damn well better feed 'em and give 'em a rug. The whole thing is a shame and disgrace to our country.
I don't know if you were serious, but to the extent that you were, you are no patriot. You are, in fact, a fact-twisting, lying, sack of shit asshole. Just like your neocon buddies in Washington.
Give us all a break with your bullshit. We got it already - you love Bush...you don't HAVE to allow your blind worship of that moron to absolutely warp your small mind.
NOTE: If you were kidding, so am I.
Patrick,
/. I am seriously considering giving Linspire a try!
Well said, indeed. That was just about one of the most clear-headed, straightforward, and unpretentious posts that I've ever read on the ol'
- sgage
"Dear old people,
Help save Social Security, work longer or die sooner.
Concerned taxpayer"
Working longer, dying sooner.
You've just summed up my retirement plan perfectly!
- sgage (only a boyish 51 years old!)
"But until we have a space elevator or anti-gravity, riding an explosion of chemicals to orbit is the best system we got."
:-)
Or have a bunch of launch engineers gather around meditating, and mentally levitate the payload into orbit. A similar probability of happening
All kidding aside, what ARE we supposed to do to get stuff into orbit more efficiently/effectively/inexpensively in the medium term? Because I don't see space elevators happening for a long, long time, if ever. And anti-gravity is a pipe-dream. Unless we reverse engineer one of them crashed UFO's they've got stashed at Area 51. Hmmm...
- sgage
Ah, so that's how it works. Seems so simple. Why didn't I think of it?
- sgage
"Grammar tip: "Effect" is a verb. "Affect" is a noun."
Your sig affected me greatly. It had quite an effect on me. It did effect a change in my affect, in fact.
"Effect" and "Affect" can act as both verbs and nouns.
Developing new antibiotics to stay one step ahead (or only one step behind)of constantly evolving bacteria seems fruitless. How about reversing that dynamic?
There must be a rather large number of antibiotics available - how about a scheduled rotation from compound to compound over the years, so that it's the bacteria have to hit the moving target, instead of us. I.e., in 2006 we use these 6 antibiotics, in 2008 we all shift to these 6, etc., etc. Presumably the bacteria won't have time to become resistant, or, even if they do, they will have lost their resistance by the time you came back around to the beginning of your cycle. Meanwhile, you can still develop new antibiotics.
I suppose it would require an international agreement and the logistics are probably impossible, but it seems like a sensible thing to try.
- sgage