"The idea of overpopulation is not accurate," Duggar says, because the entire population of the world could fit inside of Jacksonville, Florida. --"I agree with Mother Teresa when she said, 'to say that there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers,'" Duggar said.
Societies with sufficient capital (like say, Japan or Singapore) can function fine with enormously high population densities. Now, by "capital" I don't just mean money and physical resources, but other forms of capital as well; technical and economic human capital, and social capital such as a highly-ordered, highly-collaborative culture.
In comparison, other societies would experience mass chaos if they had to fit the current population of Jacksonville, in the land area of Jacksonville. Overpopulation is very much a situational phenomenon; one can raise as many "flowers" as they like given the competency of one's society. Unfortunately though, it seems the key characteristics that allow a particular society to raise more flowers (such as foresight, saving and investment, and self-discipline), are at odds with the characteristics that actually result in more, um... seeds being sown.
Being a somewhat typical software engineer I have trouble paying bills on time, for want of attention rather than cash.
Same here, I used to miss payments all the time from being absent-minded.
Doing automatic payments solved this for me -- just don't link up your main bank account, as that leaves you vulnerable to their billing screw-ups. I had mine set up to be paid automatically with a credit card (which give you more leverage for disputing charges than a bank account), and the card in turn was set up for auto-pay from my checking account. No interest charges since everything was paid off monthly.
Was I the only one who thought it was kinda sad that he "shared" the sunset with the girl, but he really was there all alone?
Well, happiness and sadness are relative to your starting position. If you had a real girl before, of course it'd be sad. But if all you have is a waifu, being able to see her besides you would be an upgrade.
FTFY. Why do you think the number of criminal offenses keeps increasing? Ayn Rand hit the ball out of the park:
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."
While I don't know if she was aware of it, her quote is pretty much a paraphrase from something the ancient Chinese Legalist philosopher Han Feizi said.
Except that Han Feizi meant it seriously as a method of ruling that should be implemented (and it was).
You brought up tobacco. If it is so deadly and dangerous how come there hasn't been a complete ban of the product?
Probably the experience of Prohibition? On second thought, no -- It's clear we haven't learned anything from that.
In any event, opponents of smoking mostly have been contained to nibbling away at the edges when they can find an argument strong enough to overcome opposition -- blocking certain channels of advertising (save the children), limited bans in certain locations (2nd-hand smoke affecting non-consenting persons). The graphic-images-on-cartons move might have a shot, but is currently engaged in legal ping-pong (and will probably go to the Supreme Court eventually).
You know what would be awesome? If you could view this on Google Earth, and when you zoom-out all the way (complete with Beep-boop sound effects) the planet would be a Torus.
Oh, c'mon! Where the frig in the Periodic Table does one find "Unobtanium"? Seriously? I heard that, and gave up on the flick from that point on.
I figured Unobtainium to be some sort of ClarkeTech-level meta-material, much like the Cavorite in A Deepness in the Sky. In that story, Cavorite was a mineral discovered by the native Spider civilization, possessing miraculous anti-gravity properties Yet it was composed of nothing more than common elements, mostly diamonoid carbon, that should have yielded an unremarkable pile of dust. In that story, it was insinuated that the material was not naturally occuring, but the legacy of some hyper-advanced intelligence or civilization.
The implication being that the Na'vi were not a primitive pre-industrial society -- but a primitive post-industrial one. The planet-wide bio-net and cooperative defense system doesn't make sense from a Darwinian evolutionary standpoint, but it might have made sense if it was designed that way. And those Unobtanium "ore" formations? Perhaps the remains of some ancient server farm or energy storage-facility... or garbage dump.
Entity, meet biological warfare (easily possible, given the ease with which the DNA was replicated) and a gaggle of large asteroids being flung at the surface just for good measure (also possible, given the massive energy require to go FTL (or was it near-light?) speeds in the first place). There's at least half a dozen ways, given that story's tech, in which to destroy the inhabitants without harming the material, endangering a single human being, and basically turning the place into an airless rock that can be strip-mined.
In the aftermath of Avatar's release, I found similar viewpoints all too common among my fellow nerds. It bothers me to think that we can consider genocide to be the "obvious" solution, and that not resorting to total war at the get-go as being the mark of a plot hole.
The corporate managers in Avatar weren't actually evil, but merely self-serving and cynical. They told themselves it was ok because they weren't really doing anything evil -- just moving some stubborn natives somewhere less inconvenient. I'm sure after the orders were given, they told themselves that it was the natives who forced them to act as they did, their superstitious and ignorant natures prevented the savages from listening to reason.
In any case, we often forget that the humans were employees of a corporation, not a sovereign military force. The soldiers were the equivalent of some Blackwater mercenaries. Regardless of how powerful corporations sometimes seem, it is government who still holds the leash, being jealous entities that hold the best goodies (like WMDs) for themselves.
By far, the more interesting question about this discovery is what kind of reasoning brought these researchers to dip their samples in wine and test if superconductivity would emerge?
A team of Mexican scientists found that the heated vapor from 80-proof (40% alcohol) tequila blanco, when deposited on a silicon or stainless steel substrate, can form diamond films.
Why is Bo Xilai called a left-wing leader? Wikipedia portrays him as an "elitist" who sometimes supports leftist policies.
It's relative to the peculiar (and seemingly contradictory) factional politics of mainland China.
Bo Xilai is aligned with the "Shanghai Princeling" faction; their members are mostly descendants of the original generation of Communist leaders. Generally this group has been seen as elitist and market-oriented. Yet at the same time, Bo Xilai was known for instituting populist welfare programs, busting "criminal gangs" (and according to rumors, ordinary businessmen whose assets were coveted by the government) and encouraging Mao-era culture and ideology.
Their major rival faction, the Tuanpai faction, arose from members of the Communist Youth League; few of their members came from privileged backgrounds, including current General Secretary Hu Jintao (whose father was denounced during the Cultural Revolution). Their faction is generally considered populist, with special emphasis on social harmony.
Given these descriptions, it would be difficult for a Western observer to assign labels like "Left" or "Right" to these groups, but it makes sense from a Chinese perspective.
Wen Jibao would not have publicly denounced Bo Xiliai without the approval of Jiang Zemin.
I'm not sure I understand this interpretation. To me, it looked like a direct shot from Hu Jintao / Wen Jiabao aimed right at Jiang Zemin's faction. They're opening up the Great Firewall because the majority of the information circulating on the western side is more embarrassing to Jiang than to Hu/Wen. Not only that, but it's allowing dirt regarding Bo Xilai / Zhou Yongkang to get back through to Chinese citizens in a roundabout way, bypassing domestic news sources (who, even when encouraged by the nominally-in-charge authorities to report, find themselves paralyzed and unwilling to possibly end up on the losing side, once the purges are over).
It looks like there's a struggle going on between two major power blocks, triggered after head of the Public Security Bureau in ChongQing, Wang Lijun, attempted to seek shelter (and possibly defect) at a US Consulate -- possibly to save his own life after uncovering corruption involving Bo Xiliai (who at one point had been thought to be a candidate for a top leadership position in China).
While the US consulate rejected Wang, he is rumored to have turned over a lot of dirt to the US staff before being arrested by Chinese authorities (including rumors that he had info on a possible coup attempt) and now officials are getting purged all over the place. Interesting times.
Yup, if you look through Ebay, they're plenty of sellers offering "Bad ESN" Sprint phones (and if the ESN status isn't made explicitly clear, better ask before buying). Not all were stolen of course -- there are also phones from broken contracts and delinquent accounts.
No shortage of buyers apparently, and I have a hard time believing they're all being purchased for spare parts.
Both in the fish market, and in the wine market, taste tests show that consumers generally can't tell the difference. If consumers were smart, they would have chosen the cheaper product in the first place.
And not only would they have saved money, they might have gotten less mercury as well. More expensive species of fish tend to be on higher trophic levels.
The surprising thing to me is how many anachronistic sound effects I still hear -- in movies, TV, radio programs, etc. They're useful in emphasizing certain actions, so they keep getting used, even when not dealing with a historical period-piece.
Unfortunately, if you don't want to pay the extra fee, you're pretty much limited to a handful of 3G-only smartphones (Marquee, Arrive, and some old models). Sprint will refuse to activate a 4G-capable phone for you, regardless of the network status in your market.
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a rare, insider-rich piece targeting Hesse. A betting man would say his own board of directors had a lot to do with the story. No, no one on the board is quoted directly. But the picture the WSJ paints is certainly a flattering one of an engaged, hands-on board. They are served well by this story.
You don’t see this sort of knifing when an exec is secure in his job. It usually means board members are trying to distance themselves from a CEO’s plans gone wrong so they don’t get personally sued by shareholders. Or they’re getting ready to fire him.
Just last month, Sprint made an abortive attempt at a merger with MetroPCS, which was championed by Hesse but ultimately shot-down by the board. I have a feeling the company is going to experience a coup d'etat any day now. Well, whatever -- as long as my legacy SERO plan keeps working.
...swallow his pride and show us more of Megan Fox's ass.
Spoilers for the TMNT movie ahoy! . . . . Ok, so-- You know how the turtles love pizza? The new movie's plot revolves the turtles quest for vengence, after the Turtles witness their Pizza Delivery guy's car exploding. And the Pizza Delivery guy exploding. And the pizza exploding.
Oh yeah, and Megan Fox's ass... it explodes too. It's gonna be awesome!
I think that phrase "its a passing fad" should almost qualify as investment advice. take a hard look at the passing fads, and buy in early! or even better, short the company that claims their threat is a passing fad.
Brittanica likely suffered from the same internal conflict of interest that contributed to the demise of Polaroid and Kodak. Individuals within the companies may have had the foresight to understand what was about to happen, but encountered two different types of roadblock. The Britannica rep was a good example of the first type.
The second type though, was the more lethal one -- a management that did understand the threat, but whose primary concern was ensuring that the company did not end up competing with itself. By the time they were forced by external forces, it was already too late.
While it is possible (and being done) to re-open the old mines and cease the monopoly that is currently held, it takes time to get these things up and running.
Time... and money. There's currently an investment bubble building up around rare earth mining, lots of hype. All China need do is bide their time and stockpile while upcoming companies burn through investor cash, setting up mines and equipment. Then just as they're about to ramp up production, China can open the export floodgates.
The ensuing crash will make sure no investors try again for the next several decades.
A couple years back, I wanted to get some perspective on just how much mercury is in a CFL. After looking up values for a typical CFL bulb, it turned out the entire mercury content of the bulb was equivalent to 4-5 pounds of swordfish.
Not sure if that's an endorsement for the safety of CFLs, or a warning to the effects of bio-accumulation on seafood.
I wish the incandescent bulbs were still available.
Well, Halogens are technically a special subtype of Incandescents, capable of meeting all your requirements and suitable for use as a drop-in replacement for your beloved bulbs. Power efficiency is only slightly improved compared to standard Incandescent though.
Slashdot Mirror
"The idea of overpopulation is not accurate," Duggar says, because the entire population of the world could fit inside of Jacksonville, Florida. --"I agree with Mother Teresa when she said, 'to say that there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers,'" Duggar said.
Societies with sufficient capital (like say, Japan or Singapore) can function fine with enormously high population densities. Now, by "capital" I don't just mean money and physical resources, but other forms of capital as well; technical and economic human capital, and social capital such as a highly-ordered, highly-collaborative culture.
In comparison, other societies would experience mass chaos if they had to fit the current population of Jacksonville, in the land area of Jacksonville. Overpopulation is very much a situational phenomenon; one can raise as many "flowers" as they like given the competency of one's society. Unfortunately though, it seems the key characteristics that allow a particular society to raise more flowers (such as foresight, saving and investment, and self-discipline), are at odds with the characteristics that actually result in more, um... seeds being sown.
Being a somewhat typical software engineer I have trouble paying bills on time, for want of attention rather than cash.
Same here, I used to miss payments all the time from being absent-minded.
Doing automatic payments solved this for me -- just don't link up your main bank account, as that leaves you vulnerable to their billing screw-ups. I had mine set up to be paid automatically with a credit card (which give you more leverage for disputing charges than a bank account), and the card in turn was set up for auto-pay from my checking account. No interest charges since everything was paid off monthly.
Was I the only one who thought it was kinda sad that he "shared" the sunset with the girl, but he really was there all alone?
Well, happiness and sadness are relative to your starting position. If you had a real girl before, of course it'd be sad. But if all you have is a waifu, being able to see her besides you would be an upgrade.
FTFY. Why do you think the number of criminal offenses keeps increasing? Ayn Rand hit the ball out of the park:
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."
While I don't know if she was aware of it, her quote is pretty much a paraphrase from something the ancient Chinese Legalist philosopher Han Feizi said.
Except that Han Feizi meant it seriously as a method of ruling that should be implemented (and it was).
You brought up tobacco. If it is so deadly and dangerous how come there hasn't been a complete ban of the product?
Probably the experience of Prohibition? On second thought, no -- It's clear we haven't learned anything from that.
In any event, opponents of smoking mostly have been contained to nibbling away at the edges when they can find an argument strong enough to overcome opposition -- blocking certain channels of advertising (save the children), limited bans in certain locations (2nd-hand smoke affecting non-consenting persons). The graphic-images-on-cartons move might have a shot, but is currently engaged in legal ping-pong (and will probably go to the Supreme Court eventually).
You know what would be awesome? If you could view this on Google Earth, and when you zoom-out all the way (complete with Beep-boop sound effects) the planet would be a Torus.
Oh, c'mon! Where the frig in the Periodic Table does one find "Unobtanium"? Seriously? I heard that, and gave up on the flick from that point on.
I figured Unobtainium to be some sort of ClarkeTech-level meta-material, much like the Cavorite in A Deepness in the Sky. In that story, Cavorite was a mineral discovered by the native Spider civilization, possessing miraculous anti-gravity properties Yet it was composed of nothing more than common elements, mostly diamonoid carbon, that should have yielded an unremarkable pile of dust. In that story, it was insinuated that the material was not naturally occuring, but the legacy of some hyper-advanced intelligence or civilization.
The implication being that the Na'vi were not a primitive pre-industrial society -- but a primitive post-industrial one. The planet-wide bio-net and cooperative defense system doesn't make sense from a Darwinian evolutionary standpoint, but it might have made sense if it was designed that way. And those Unobtanium "ore" formations? Perhaps the remains of some ancient server farm or energy storage-facility... or garbage dump.
Entity, meet biological warfare (easily possible, given the ease with which the DNA was replicated) and a gaggle of large asteroids being flung at the surface just for good measure (also possible, given the massive energy require to go FTL (or was it near-light?) speeds in the first place). There's at least half a dozen ways, given that story's tech, in which to destroy the inhabitants without harming the material, endangering a single human being, and basically turning the place into an airless rock that can be strip-mined.
In the aftermath of Avatar's release, I found similar viewpoints all too common among my fellow nerds. It bothers me to think that we can consider genocide to be the "obvious" solution, and that not resorting to total war at the get-go as being the mark of a plot hole.
The corporate managers in Avatar weren't actually evil, but merely self-serving and cynical. They told themselves it was ok because they weren't really doing anything evil -- just moving some stubborn natives somewhere less inconvenient. I'm sure after the orders were given, they told themselves that it was the natives who forced them to act as they did, their superstitious and ignorant natures prevented the savages from listening to reason.
In any case, we often forget that the humans were employees of a corporation, not a sovereign military force. The soldiers were the equivalent of some Blackwater mercenaries. Regardless of how powerful corporations sometimes seem, it is government who still holds the leash, being jealous entities that hold the best goodies (like WMDs) for themselves.
By far, the more interesting question about this discovery is what kind of reasoning brought these researchers to dip their samples in wine and test if superconductivity would emerge?
Not the first scientists to take such a tangent:
http://www.physorg.com/news145255770.html
A team of Mexican scientists found that the heated vapor from 80-proof (40% alcohol) tequila blanco, when deposited on a silicon or stainless steel substrate, can form diamond films.
Why is Bo Xilai called a left-wing leader? Wikipedia portrays him as an "elitist" who sometimes supports leftist policies.
It's relative to the peculiar (and seemingly contradictory) factional politics of mainland China.
Bo Xilai is aligned with the "Shanghai Princeling" faction; their members are mostly descendants of the original generation of Communist leaders. Generally this group has been seen as elitist and market-oriented. Yet at the same time, Bo Xilai was known for instituting populist welfare programs, busting "criminal gangs" (and according to rumors, ordinary businessmen whose assets were coveted by the government) and encouraging Mao-era culture and ideology.
Their major rival faction, the Tuanpai faction, arose from members of the Communist Youth League; few of their members came from privileged backgrounds, including current General Secretary Hu Jintao (whose father was denounced during the Cultural Revolution). Their faction is generally considered populist, with special emphasis on social harmony.
Given these descriptions, it would be difficult for a Western observer to assign labels like "Left" or "Right" to these groups, but it makes sense from a Chinese perspective.
Wen Jibao would not have publicly denounced Bo Xiliai without the approval of Jiang Zemin.
I'm not sure I understand this interpretation. To me, it looked like a direct shot from Hu Jintao / Wen Jiabao aimed right at Jiang Zemin's faction. They're opening up the Great Firewall because the majority of the information circulating on the western side is more embarrassing to Jiang than to Hu/Wen. Not only that, but it's allowing dirt regarding Bo Xilai / Zhou Yongkang to get back through to Chinese citizens in a roundabout way, bypassing domestic news sources (who, even when encouraged by the nominally-in-charge authorities to report, find themselves paralyzed and unwilling to possibly end up on the losing side, once the purges are over).
It looks like there's a struggle going on between two major power blocks, triggered after head of the Public Security Bureau in ChongQing, Wang Lijun, attempted to seek shelter (and possibly defect) at a US Consulate -- possibly to save his own life after uncovering corruption involving Bo Xiliai (who at one point had been thought to be a candidate for a top leadership position in China).
While the US consulate rejected Wang, he is rumored to have turned over a lot of dirt to the US staff before being arrested by Chinese authorities (including rumors that he had info on a possible coup attempt) and now officials are getting purged all over the place. Interesting times.
Yup, if you look through Ebay, they're plenty of sellers offering "Bad ESN" Sprint phones (and if the ESN status isn't made explicitly clear, better ask before buying). Not all were stolen of course -- there are also phones from broken contracts and delinquent accounts.
No shortage of buyers apparently, and I have a hard time believing they're all being purchased for spare parts.
Both in the fish market, and in the wine market, taste tests show that consumers generally can't tell the difference. If consumers were smart, they would have chosen the cheaper product in the first place.
And not only would they have saved money, they might have gotten less mercury as well. More expensive species of fish tend to be on higher trophic levels.
The surprising thing to me is how many anachronistic sound effects I still hear -- in movies, TV, radio programs, etc. They're useful in emphasizing certain actions, so they keep getting used, even when not dealing with a historical period-piece.
Unfortunately, if you don't want to pay the extra fee, you're pretty much limited to a handful of 3G-only smartphones (Marquee, Arrive, and some old models). Sprint will refuse to activate a 4G-capable phone for you, regardless of the network status in your market.
The SprintUsers site had an interesting commentary regarding a recent WSJ article on Hesse:
http://www.sprintusers.com/could-hesse-lose-his-job
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a rare, insider-rich piece targeting Hesse. A betting man would say his own board of directors had a lot to do with the story. No, no one on the board is quoted directly. But the picture the WSJ paints is certainly a flattering one of an engaged, hands-on board. They are served well by this story.
You don’t see this sort of knifing when an exec is secure in his job. It usually means board members are trying to distance themselves from a CEO’s plans gone wrong so they don’t get personally sued by shareholders. Or they’re getting ready to fire him.
Just last month, Sprint made an abortive attempt at a merger with MetroPCS, which was championed by Hesse but ultimately shot-down by the board. I have a feeling the company is going to experience a coup d'etat any day now. Well, whatever -- as long as my legacy SERO plan keeps working.
...swallow his pride and show us more of Megan Fox's ass.
Spoilers for the TMNT movie ahoy!
.
.
.
.
Ok, so-- You know how the turtles love pizza? The new movie's plot revolves the turtles quest for vengence, after the Turtles witness their Pizza Delivery guy's car exploding. And the Pizza Delivery guy exploding. And the pizza exploding.
Oh yeah, and Megan Fox's ass... it explodes too. It's gonna be awesome!
I think that phrase "its a passing fad" should almost qualify as investment advice. take a hard look at the passing fads, and buy in early! or even better, short the company that claims their threat is a passing fad.
Brittanica likely suffered from the same internal conflict of interest that contributed to the demise of Polaroid and Kodak. Individuals within the companies may have had the foresight to understand what was about to happen, but encountered two different types of roadblock. The Britannica rep was a good example of the first type.
The second type though, was the more lethal one -- a management that did understand the threat, but whose primary concern was ensuring that the company did not end up competing with itself. By the time they were forced by external forces, it was already too late.
Have you tried bending over?
Well, that definitely made it easier to take what I was receiving from AT&T, but it didn't help with the cell phone signal one bit.
While it is possible (and being done) to re-open the old mines and cease the monopoly that is currently held, it takes time to get these things up and running.
Time... and money. There's currently an investment bubble building up around rare earth mining, lots of hype. All China need do is bide their time and stockpile while upcoming companies burn through investor cash, setting up mines and equipment. Then just as they're about to ramp up production, China can open the export floodgates.
The ensuing crash will make sure no investors try again for the next several decades.
and E) Kick your Dog
Remember, friends don't let friends install Norton!
A couple years back, I wanted to get some perspective on just how much mercury is in a CFL. After looking up values for a typical CFL bulb, it turned out the entire mercury content of the bulb was equivalent to 4-5 pounds of swordfish.
Not sure if that's an endorsement for the safety of CFLs, or a warning to the effects of bio-accumulation on seafood.
I wish the incandescent bulbs were still available.
Well, Halogens are technically a special subtype of Incandescents, capable of meeting all your requirements and suitable for use as a drop-in replacement for your beloved bulbs. Power efficiency is only slightly improved compared to standard Incandescent though.
LulzSec in my opinion were sacrificing their future for dumb reasons. Was it worth going to jail over?
Many Bothans died to bring us these Lulz.
it's Google Play now. Get with it.
Needs a catchy slogan, I heard Microsoft's got a slightly used one they're not using anymore. How about "Google Plays for Sure"?