a ZPM (the SG-1/SGA fictuous device) that's suppose to drain energy from empty space is still a device that (supposedly) gets you free regular energy.. no Exotic matter here.. sorry
It is used to *reduce* the overall kinetic energy of a re-entering bolide so that the acceleration (and hereby force) to which the payload is submitted at impact doesn't damage said payload.
And also.. the overall energy dissipated during atmospheric re-entry cannot exceed the amount of energy used to put the object wherever - and at whatever velocity - it was before re-entry. So if you are worried about energy expenditure.. just don't launch !
With such a statement, you have just defined that *everything* is alive since Quantum theory basically states that nothing can be predicted with 100% certainty (only that most things can be guessed with a certain degree of confidence).
To take your analogy, you cannot *actually* predict with 100% certainty that the rock won't ever jump into the cherry pie. It's just highly unlikely !
First, not all viruses need an operating system (see boot sector viruses).
Second, your logic assertion is flawed. you are implying 1 statement from another when there is no logic relations between the 2. It's like saying : a virus is like a car (the statement to prove). A car cannot run by itself. It needs fuel to run (a tautology with no relation to the statement to prove).
If you want to compare anything, all you can say is that a computer virus is just like any other sequence of instructions that run on a computer - it's just the programmer's intents and its effects which differentiate a computer virus from other type of programs. And since no entity (unless you are an ID proponent) has 'designed' viruses and, furthermore, not all biological viruses have ill effects, computer viruses and biological viruses are *definitely* dissimilar.
What differentiates viruses from other biological entities is that they lack some of the basic tools to reproduce on their own, so they have to borrow some of those tools from a host cell.
And since the majority of life forms need assistance from other life forms to sustain themselves and to eventually reproduce (humans needs to eat.. Not only for the energy, but also, for example, to gain access to essential amino-acids that human physiology cannot create on its own), I'm not sure this is a criteria to determine whether a virus is alive or not.
Currently, the most needed piece of software missing from productivity suites are an 'access' like product (read : a SQL query + reporting tool).
For the rest.. I completely agree... myself (like you) haven't had any MS Office product installed on my computer(s) (some of the running Windows) for a long time (~3 years).
Like you said.. it *IS* difficult to pry one's own finger nails.. but you usually don't go as far as *actually* feeling pain before you stop !
And a toddler would stop doing it as soon as some *discomfort* (not pain) sets in.
If some (obviously deranged) third party were to submit him/her to *that* kind of experience, then I'd rather my child feel some mild discomfort (that would prevent him/her from self inflicting damage) than searing pain !
But for the time being, I can still edit my documents, do my spreadsheets and craft my presentations at no cost without needing the processing power of an external company (when I have 4 cores sitting idle) - for no obvious advantage - and with a potential (yes.. it's *only* potential - and probably *very* unlikely) risk of data sequestration or disclosure.
Ok.. ok.. granted.. I *had* to set up my own backups.. and without some effort, being able to access my documents while being out may be a little bit problematic (but setting up a small WebDav server over HTTPS isn't *that overly difficult).
But it's not really about the 'cloud' is it ? rather it's being about relinquishing control (and *that* is my issue.. even if it's a remote possibility.. but I think you already figured that one out:P)
But then again, I understand when I post a comment on/., I pretty much relinquish any property over such comment.
It'd be like saying.. Ok.. I like to make bold comments sitting on a soap box.. only I don't want anyone to hear it !
It's not really whether it's a 'cloud'.. but rather one is ready to delegate so much responsibility to an external entity - to a point where you completely become dependent on it.
Granted, I *do* use the services of 'external' entities for other purpose (no.. I don't grow my own vegetables.. I go to the grocery store like about anybody else).. But I know I can do that because if *this* service fails, someone else will take over - and - I won't have commited everything to it ! If you start using services like Google Doc - my fear (and maybe it's not justified) is that they may hold more control over my stuff than they should have.
But this is pretty much *ONE* way.. (except for any coordinate or mouse movement)..
And of course, I also (extensively) use google's search service (which could probable have been a much better example !)
But I don't *store* anything on google maps.. or the search engine. If it were to fail.. to fold.. or whatever, I'd still have basic service. I wouldn't have lost 10 years of documents.. google (or whoever comes next) wouldn't be scanning my documents for every pesky little detail about my life.. and I wouldn't be - all of a sudden - asked to dish out 50% of my income so that I can retrieve that information (not saying they will.. but with the current state of affair.. so probably *could*)
I'm not saying we should *never* rely on external services.. I'm just saying I'd rather (while I can) keep control over whatever I can (ok.. call me a control freak.. maybe I am !)
Pain is NOT a useful sensation ! Touch is.. discomfort is.. pain ISN'T !
Ever throught about being restrained and had someone pull your fingernails out ? how does that serve anything ?
Or someone pointing a gun at your head and telling you you have a minute to live.. or being told you have terminal cancel.. how does the pain help in a situation where there is no hope anyway?
Oh.. and so why did the dentists invent anesthetics in the first place ? (sorry.. no novocaine there.. pain helps you realize that me drilling a hole in your molar isn't really for your own good.. please stand still while I secure those shackles to the chair..)
The cow may feel *discomfort* (and will back out of the barbed wire fence).. but pain is useless if it can be prevented (and the cow will die a peaceful death - and the meat will taste better too !)
And finally.. no.. evolution doesn't get rid of something if it doesn't serve a purpose.. evolution will get rid of something if it is statistically more likely that you will live long enough to have offspring if you do not have that feature (because, again, statistically - you are less likely to pass it on to your children)!
And if Homo Sapiens find ways to remove (or at least switch off) something that no longer serves an evolutionary purpose - or for that matter - basic safety - but is only a leftover of the time pain *might* have served some evolutionary purpose, then I'm all for it !
And yes.. I do have a single server somewhere I use to handle my e-mail.. and my DNS.. (only thing is I have to hire the service of a registrar to write stuff in the ICANN db.. but I can live with that)
Do I use Google Docs ? You've got to be kidding right ?
Do I use collaborative solutions to author documents.. sure.. e-mails, mailing lists (which I can eventually host by myself should it become necessary) and a couple tools I host on the aforementioned server Online backup service ? YUCK ! I have a few machines here and there and cross backup (ok.. so it IS Online Backup.. but I *know* were my stuff is located).
And I don't even have (or want) an iPhone !
So ! there !
(well... you weren't actually asking ME the question were you ?)
I don't think life has any "Objective". The fact that life forms that self-preserve, replicate and adapt are successful within a time frame doesn't mean there is a "goal". I'd rather term this as a side effect of the chemistry and physics surrounding biological entities.
To me it's like saying that a star (the little flickering lights in the sky and the sun) "goal" is to efficiently balance its energy output to counteract the gravitational force that tends to collapse it. There is no "goal" or "objective" here - just that's the way it is (and if it weren't that way, we wouldn't be here to see it).
The same can be said about the fact the laws of physics are (at a macroscopic level anyway) governed by a 3-space/1-time universe and the right value for the Plank constant (again.. with any other configuration - we wouldn't be here to see it)
I suggest *any* government or body of law apologize for any past law criminalizing *victimless* offenses, and immediately repeal any such existing law.
So in this example, the apology shouldn't be : we're sorry for what we did for Alan Turing - but rather, we're sorry for what we did to any individual for any wrongdoing for what they were, what they believed (or what they didn't believe in), for what their lifestyle may have been, for thinking different or for being different.
This includes, but is not limited to prosecution, forced labor, legally induced grief or discrimination because of - Sexual orientation and practices - Religious belief - Race, ethnological group or geographic origin - Political view - Drug usage - Health issues (cf Euthanasia for example) - etc..
Also, ensure that any individual or group of individuals wrongdoing towards *any* other individual or group of individual (regardless of creed, race, sexual orientation (non exhaustive list)) be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Of course, there is one potential issue with such a libertarian system : How to define 'wrongdoing', and especially how to prevent contradiction with some other principles (especially free speech).
I would tend to think that, if it ever becomes a concern, they could easily reduce the amount of Pb205 in the mix.
Using a centrifuge would seem to be able to do the trick (and multi-staging it eventually).. But I'm no physicist nor an engineer, so I'm not even sure whether it's practical and/or even feasible!
Of course it's not ionizing.. Each photon has way too little energy to do that !
But unless the material either reflects or is transparent at this wavelength, some of the energy will be transferred to the material and eventually raise its temperature !
Hmm.. you are going to have to define what you mean by 'low power'.. (that is, low compared to what).
Because, just like excessive or incorrect absorption of DHMO, excessive amount of EM radiation (including those in the proximity of 2.4GHz or "micro waves") can also have adverse effects !
What's probably more important is the irradiance (W.m^-2) - since I guess focusing the entire power emitted by a source such as a Wifi appliance to a small surface could cause burns (although it's probably quite difficult to achieve).
Slashdot Mirror
Hey.. MS has a good track record when it comes to implementing a new ubiquitous network right ?
Remember MSN (the thing that was suppose to kill the internet.. So much better than TCP/IP that Win 95 didn't have a TCP/IP stack to start with) ?
I'm wondering (ok.. not *really* wondering) why they went to those guys to do that..
--Ivan
Come on.. who cares..
Appstore ? Amazon ? E-Bay.. Whatever...
Is this Geek story ?
Who cares about the marketroids doing biziniss ??
Because they are using a "geeky" 'a.k.a the internetz' to do that biziness doesn't make them geeky !
Ok.. I didn't read TFA.. but I didn't feel like it!
I want to read about "quantum physics".. "the ultimate programing language" or "the most prominent hardware architecture"..
and NOT about some sleazy company making money with some lousy marketing scheme..
Sorry.. you may mod me -1 as much as you like.. won't change my mind !
--Ivan
(PS : No.. I won't post AC - Because.. I stand by what I say !)
ZPMs (Zero Point Modules) still won't cut it..
a ZPM (the SG-1/SGA fictuous device) that's suppose to drain energy from empty space is still a device that (supposedly) gets you free regular energy.. no Exotic matter here.. sorry
--Ivan
Unfortunately, a matter/anti matter reactor is not enough to create an Alcubierre drive.. We still need some Exotic Matter.. And a lot of it..
So .. go back to sleep.. nothing to see here..
--Ivan
That's the second source that's telling me the Free e-mail certs/WOT program is coming to an end..
However, looking at http://www.thawte.com/ doesn't reveal anything as such..
But I can't say I'm *that* surprised..
--Ivan
I get it.. it's SO enormous.. and since we're not April 1st, I can only conclude the web site was hacked and some witty nerd pranked them..
Ah ah.. tweet banking.. uh uh.. funny..
--Ivan
Well, somehow, it is already being exploited..
It is used to *reduce* the overall kinetic energy of a re-entering bolide so that the acceleration (and hereby force) to which the payload is submitted at impact doesn't damage said payload.
And also.. the overall energy dissipated during atmospheric re-entry cannot exceed the amount of energy used to put the object wherever - and at whatever velocity - it was before re-entry. So if you are worried about energy expenditure.. just don't launch !
--Ivan
Wow !
With such a statement, you have just defined that *everything* is alive since Quantum theory basically states that nothing can be predicted with 100% certainty (only that most things can be guessed with a certain degree of confidence).
To take your analogy, you cannot *actually* predict with 100% certainty that the rock won't ever jump into the cherry pie. It's just highly unlikely !
--Ivan
I can't see the analogy.
First, not all viruses need an operating system (see boot sector viruses).
Second, your logic assertion is flawed. you are implying 1 statement from another when there is no logic relations between the 2. It's like saying : a virus is like a car (the statement to prove). A car cannot run by itself. It needs fuel to run (a tautology with no relation to the statement to prove).
If you want to compare anything, all you can say is that a computer virus is just like any other sequence of instructions that run on a computer - it's just the programmer's intents and its effects which differentiate a computer virus from other type of programs. And since no entity (unless you are an ID proponent) has 'designed' viruses and, furthermore, not all biological viruses have ill effects, computer viruses and biological viruses are *definitely* dissimilar.
What differentiates viruses from other biological entities is that they lack some of the basic tools to reproduce on their own, so they have to borrow some of those tools from a host cell.
And since the majority of life forms need assistance from other life forms to sustain themselves and to eventually reproduce (humans needs to eat.. Not only for the energy, but also, for example, to gain access to essential amino-acids that human physiology cannot create on its own), I'm not sure this is a criteria to determine whether a virus is alive or not.
--Ivan
Currently, the most needed piece of software missing from productivity suites are an 'access' like product (read : a SQL query + reporting tool).
For the rest.. I completely agree... myself (like you) haven't had any MS Office product installed on my computer(s) (some of the running Windows) for a long time (~3 years).
--Ivan
Like you said.. it *IS* difficult to pry one's own finger nails.. but you usually don't go as far as *actually* feeling pain before you stop !
And a toddler would stop doing it as soon as some *discomfort* (not pain) sets in.
If some (obviously deranged) third party were to submit him/her to *that* kind of experience, then I'd rather my child feel some mild discomfort (that would prevent him/her from self inflicting damage) than searing pain !
--Ivan
No.. I never claimed they *are* (hopefully not) !
But for the time being, I can still edit my documents, do my spreadsheets and craft my presentations at no cost without needing the processing power of an external company (when I have 4 cores sitting idle) - for no obvious advantage - and with a potential (yes.. it's *only* potential - and probably *very* unlikely) risk of data sequestration or disclosure.
Ok.. ok.. granted.. I *had* to set up my own backups.. and without some effort, being able to access my documents while being out may be a little bit problematic (but setting up a small WebDav server over HTTPS isn't *that overly difficult).
But it's not really about the 'cloud' is it ? rather it's being about relinquishing control (and *that* is my issue.. even if it's a remote possibility.. but I think you already figured that one out :P)
--Ivan
True.. true..
But then again, I understand when I post a comment on /., I pretty much relinquish any property over such comment.
It'd be like saying.. Ok.. I like to make bold comments sitting on a soap box.. only I don't want anyone to hear it !
It's not really whether it's a 'cloud'.. but rather one is ready to delegate so much responsibility to an external entity - to a point where you completely become dependent on it.
Granted, I *do* use the services of 'external' entities for other purpose (no.. I don't grow my own vegetables.. I go to the grocery store like about anybody else).. But I know I can do that because if *this* service fails, someone else will take over - and - I won't have commited everything to it ! If you start using services like Google Doc - my fear (and maybe it's not justified) is that they may hold more control over my stuff than they should have.
--Ivan
Sure I do..
But this is pretty much *ONE* way.. (except for any coordinate or mouse movement)..
And of course, I also (extensively) use google's search service (which could probable have been a much better example !)
But I don't *store* anything on google maps.. or the search engine. If it were to fail.. to fold.. or whatever, I'd still have basic service. I wouldn't have lost 10 years of documents.. google (or whoever comes next) wouldn't be scanning my documents for every pesky little detail about my life.. and I wouldn't be - all of a sudden - asked to dish out 50% of my income so that I can retrieve that information (not saying they will.. but with the current state of affair.. so probably *could*)
I'm not saying we should *never* rely on external services.. I'm just saying I'd rather (while I can) keep control over whatever I can (ok.. call me a control freak.. maybe I am !)
--Ivan
Pain is NOT a useful sensation ! Touch is.. discomfort is.. pain ISN'T !
Ever throught about being restrained and had someone pull your fingernails out ? how does that serve anything ?
Or someone pointing a gun at your head and telling you you have a minute to live.. or being told you have terminal cancel.. how does the pain help in a situation where there is no hope anyway?
Oh.. and so why did the dentists invent anesthetics in the first place ? (sorry.. no novocaine there.. pain helps you realize that me drilling a hole in your molar isn't really for your own good.. please stand still while I secure those shackles to the chair..)
The cow may feel *discomfort* (and will back out of the barbed wire fence).. but pain is useless if it can be prevented (and the cow will die a peaceful death - and the meat will taste better too !)
And finally.. no.. evolution doesn't get rid of something if it doesn't serve a purpose.. evolution will get rid of something if it is statistically more likely that you will live long enough to have offspring if you do not have that feature (because, again, statistically - you are less likely to pass it on to your children)!
And if Homo Sapiens find ways to remove (or at least switch off) something that no longer serves an evolutionary purpose - or for that matter - basic safety - but is only a leftover of the time pain *might* have served some evolutionary purpose, then I'm all for it !
--Ivan
Do I use gmail ? certainly not ! Ewww !
And yes.. I do have a single server somewhere I use to handle my e-mail.. and my DNS.. (only thing is I have to hire the service of a registrar to write stuff in the ICANN db.. but I can live with that)
Do I use Google Docs ? You've got to be kidding right ?
Do I use collaborative solutions to author documents.. sure.. e-mails, mailing lists (which I can eventually host by myself should it become necessary) and a couple tools I host on the aforementioned server
Online backup service ? YUCK ! I have a few machines here and there and cross backup (ok.. so it IS Online Backup.. but I *know* were my stuff is located).
And I don't even have (or want) an iPhone !
So ! there !
(well... you weren't actually asking ME the question were you ?)
--Ivan
I don't think life has any "Objective". The fact that life forms that self-preserve, replicate and adapt are successful within a time frame doesn't mean there is a "goal". I'd rather term this as a side effect of the chemistry and physics surrounding biological entities.
To me it's like saying that a star (the little flickering lights in the sky and the sun) "goal" is to efficiently balance its energy output to counteract the gravitational force that tends to collapse it. There is no "goal" or "objective" here - just that's the way it is (and if it weren't that way, we wouldn't be here to see it).
The same can be said about the fact the laws of physics are (at a macroscopic level anyway) governed by a 3-space/1-time universe and the right value for the Plank constant (again.. with any other configuration - we wouldn't be here to see it)
--Ivan
I suggest *any* government or body of law apologize for any past law criminalizing *victimless* offenses, and immediately repeal any such existing law.
So in this example, the apology shouldn't be : we're sorry for what we did for Alan Turing - but rather, we're sorry for what we did to any individual for any wrongdoing for what they were, what they believed (or what they didn't believe in), for what their lifestyle may have been, for thinking different or for being different.
This includes, but is not limited to prosecution, forced labor, legally induced grief or discrimination because of
- Sexual orientation and practices
- Religious belief
- Race, ethnological group or geographic origin
- Political view
- Drug usage
- Health issues (cf Euthanasia for example)
- etc..
Also, ensure that any individual or group of individuals wrongdoing towards *any* other individual or group of individual (regardless of creed, race, sexual orientation (non exhaustive list)) be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Of course, there is one potential issue with such a libertarian system : How to define 'wrongdoing', and especially how to prevent contradiction with some other principles (especially free speech).
--Ivan
Reply because of mod misclick..
Of course, I meant Pb204..
--Ivan
I would tend to think that, if it ever becomes a concern, they could easily reduce the amount of Pb205 in the mix.
Using a centrifuge would seem to be able to do the trick (and multi-staging it eventually) .. But I'm no physicist nor an engineer, so I'm not even sure whether it's practical and/or even feasible!
--Ivan
Of course it's not ionizing.. Each photon has way too little energy to do that !
But unless the material either reflects or is transparent at this wavelength, some of the energy will be transferred to the material and eventually raise its temperature !
Otherwise, how would a microwave oven work ?
--Ivan
Hmm.. you are going to have to define what you mean by 'low power'.. (that is, low compared to what).
Because, just like excessive or incorrect absorption of DHMO, excessive amount of EM radiation (including those in the proximity of 2.4GHz or "micro waves") can also have adverse effects !
What's probably more important is the irradiance (W.m^-2) - since I guess focusing the entire power emitted by a source such as a Wifi appliance to a small surface could cause burns (although it's probably quite difficult to achieve).
--Ivan
Awww.. come on !
The dihydrogen monoxide/hydric acid/hydrane stunt was just *brilliant* !
--Ivan
Are you talking about politicians ?
--Ivan
(ok.. that one was easy..)