"Although the cause of death has been established, the scientists are still arguing where the arrow was fired. Some say it was shot from a nearby cave full of primitive cave writing, some opponents claim it was fired from a closer grassy knoll. Some even go as far as saying there was more than one shooter, since the 'magic arrow' - as the scientists started to call it - traveled through Otzi in a manner which would be 'physically impossible and ballistically preposterous' for a single arrow, as expressed by one scientist, who prefers to remain anonymous"
I recently wrote a short story on kuro5hin about a related issue: what happens to us when we don't need memory at all, since we can get all required information from the web. The article can be found here.
"Fortunately, he wasn't too bright because he left a lot of trails"
Then this mentally challenged kid went on to obliterate Undernet, brought down ISPs in Oslo and the UK and obtained root access to (several?) servers.
We are so lucky he's not too bright!
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I think TRUE happiness can only be found in the wanton indulgence of animals."
- Hobbes from Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson
Umm, sorry to break you this, but this has been done already. There have been experiments done with laser light propulsion. Here's the first link that I found
or just plain lazy, a design based on a similar concept can be found here. For some really wild designs (like the "binary" clock) check out this. And to add some non-commercial links, here is a clock based on Blick's design for DIYers.
MotorMachineMercenary
"I'm just not there"
-- Patrick Bateman
A method to taunt an adversary through a simple but effective manipulation of the five fingers of either or both hand(s). When a person feels the need to berate, reproach, denounce, lambaste or just plain piss off an antagonist, he or she folds the fingers into a fist, extends his or her arm with the folded fingers facing him or herself, and then deliberately unfolding his middle finger. Facial expressions, verbal taunts and a general hostile demeanor may be added for improved efficiency. An important note for the Office to consider is that this is an almost universally acknowledged method of reprisal, and that it also works in noisy surroundings, through windows, and language barriers.
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I'm just not/there/"
- Patrick Bateman
This patent is to protect the technology to create "ice cubes"(tm). You place a tray (pictured) filled with water in the freezer, and a few hours later you have Ice Cubes (tm). Note that the size of the cubes varies, and that they can be shaped rectangular or other various shapes as outlined in Attachment #9a. These Ice Cubes (tm) can be used to chill drinks, foodstuffs and other substances, and in crushed form (refer to patent application #21,184,388) to treat bruises and swelling.
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I'm just not/there/"
- Patrick Bateman
Found this patent #669 in the USPTO archives dating back to 1790s (note how cute it is how they have failed to trademark some obvious names for new technologies!):
Gupta Advanced Water(tm) Distribution system (GAWD)(r) is a centralized method to distribute water(tm) to a large group of customers. This is achieved through a sophisticated network of "pipes", measuring the output of water(tm) with "meters" and giving the end-user the ability to control the amount of water(tm) received through "faucets". This patent is an extension to the earlier Wells and Buckets patent #47 by the Drexel Utilities of Maryland.
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I'm just not/there/"
- Patrick Bateman
I'm sure I saw a strange phenomenon while watching the race with the Corvette C5-R 63! It was a long string of lights, that were 'dancing' with the car, maintaining the same speed (!) and finally accelerating into the horizon at speeds not humanly possible!!!
Please, if anybody is taking screenshots of this, it happened during the 42nd lap. This could be it, folks!
-- MotorMachineMercenary Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves. -Lord Byron
I believe the point in question is that artists, satirists, etc. should be allowed to use trademarks in their works. I wonder what happens to Andy Warhols of this Brave New World (tm). His art included trademarked things like Campbell Soup can, Mercedes Benz prototypes and even Three Coke Bottles. -- MotorMachineMercenary "Talent borrows, Genius steals...and Shit copies." - The Designer's Republic
Although I'm not commenting on if the MPAA has a legitimate point here, or if the case is going after the real problem, I'd like to point a concern that is part of the reason why they are going to these lengths at this.
MPAA is is concerned about the future of the movie industry. Large-scale privacy has affected the previously thriving Hong Kong movie industry drastically. They are not able to produce and finance movies in the same scale and number as they used to, because piracy puts the money into the pockets of organized crime bosses. In fact, movie directors, producers, writers and even actors and actresses held a demonstration last year against the rampant pirating in Hong Kong. This "grassroots"-picketing was an eye-opener to many HK-people. If it's too late remains to be seen.
MPAA is genuinely interested in preserving the industry. It might very well be that the case(s) demonstrate a knee-jerk reflex. But as a screenwriter (unproduced, but just wait:) I feel that their motivations are not entirely to blame. History has proven piracy to be a major problem, if it is allowed to escalate.
Why was Episode I shitty? Oh well... (cracking knuckles)
There was no STORY! Lucas writing a long sequence of scenes, loosely tying them together (sometimes not), and masking the whole thing with dazzling visuals, and calling _that_ a movie was insulting to the general audience. Eyecandy, yes. Entertaining, maybe. Good story, hardly! I don't care if he says 'Episode I' was geared for children, they still deserve a good story!
Talking about children, I despised Lucas' way of handling "war" in Episode I. Showing children that war is fun, that funny things happen constantly in war, and that wars are won with comic accidents shows that Lucas is totally out of touch with reality. I'm not saying there should've been blood and gore, but giving us one line of "isa therea peoplea gonna diea?" to portray the horror of war is not enough.
And acting! Or rather the lack of it. Nobody, _nobody_ did even a decent job of acting in the movie. And I'm not talking about Jar Jar; I think the CGI programmers actually did the best job of "acting" in the movie. The sad thing is that the movie was filled with good actors and actresses: Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson etc. I don't know what the reason for this was, but my speculation is that maybe the actors had trouble relating to green screens. Or maybe Lucas was too restricting in his directing...
George Lucas hasn't directed a feature movie in more than twenty years, and it shows. It seems like he was too totalitarian in his effort. According to the 'Making of's I've seen, he was involved in every single aspect of the movie, starting from the design of the aliens and space ships down to the musical score. This might have been great for a small budget movie like the original 'Star Wars', but when were talking about 100+ million dollar budget, he is just in the way, and restricts the creativity and distracts himself and the people who do this stuff for living. It looks like him being busy with all kinds of stuff that is not his stuff kept him too busy with writing a good story! Or writing a story at all. The movie suffered from a desperate attempt to lay the groundwork for the next five (eight?) movies. Not an easy job obviously, but if you can't handle something, why do it alone?
George Lucas really disappointed me with this one. I kinda liked episodes 4-6, but this was a real flop in every sense of the word, except financially. I went to see it in the theater just for the incredible truel, the choreography by stunt co-ordinator/swordmaster Nick Gillard was just out of this world. It was like totally, awesome! Made my balls itch!
If Lucas does not come up with a good story for the next two episodes, I will not ruin a perfectly good two hours, which I would be better off doing something more productive. Like sleeping. That of course only in the case Natalie Portman will not be in the next episodes!
MotorMachineMercenary -- Hey, shit is good! One billion trillion flies can't be wrong! -MMM
"Recalling horrific examples eugenics has had without taking into account the enlightenment of later 20th and early 21st century, citing false arbitrary, scientific or religious fears, or using neo-Luddite movies like Gattaca as an example as Jon Katz does, only detracts from the discussion."
Should read:
The way Jon Katz uses the neo-Luddite Gattaca as an example reminds me of other ways to stifle debate: recalling horrific examples eugenics has had without taking into account the enlightenment of later 20th and early 21st century, or citing false arbitrary, scientific or religious fears.
I'm terribly sorry about the confusing paragraph. I'll remember to review my revisions better next time!
-- MotorMachineMercenary add the y to my nick, and you have my @hotmail.com address!
Unfortunately Jon Katz is on the wrong track, going in the wrong direction, and doesn't even know where he is headed. Recalling horrific examples eugenics has had without taking into account the enlightenment of later 20th and early 21st century, citing false arbitrary, scientific or religious fears, or using neo-Luddite movies like Gattaca as an example as Jon Katz does, only detracts from the discussion.
These examples are provoking, but not necessarily thought-provoking. Blaming, accusing, painting dreadful scenes of utter destruction of moral and ethical principles, civility, society, even human race is not conducive to critical thinking and constructive debate.
By denying genetic research or experimentation would not stop anything. There will always be somebody who is willing to do the tests regardless of international laws or ethical concerns. That is exactly why we should have debate on the implications of gene research, encourage responsible experimantation, and make researchers accountable for their findings.
There is so much potential in gene research that its importance is hard to exaggerate. Maybe the most important and far-reaching is that understanding genes might be the only way we can prevent machines dethroning us. AI will become self-conscious due to advances in AI and brain research and Moore's law, a singularity in technology is achieved (that's when technological progress-curve is nearly vertical) in the next, say, 50 years. This means "the end of the world as we know it" (sing to the tune of REM:). How end of the world for _us_, is in our hands.
We can use our new knowledge of genes to enable us make human race better. Transhumanist ideas (http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Philosophy/T ranshumanism/) give the big picture, which is way beyond the scope of this reply. Next is the necessary research, experimentation and implementation of the new technologies. And hopefully a thriving human race, which can reach new height of intellectual, emotional and spiritual heights through augmentation by machines.
-- MotorMachineMercenary add the y to my nick, and you have my @hotmail.com address! "Mister rabbit says, 'A moment of realization is worth a thousand prayers.'" - Mickey, Natural Born Killers
Slashdot Mirror
This bans spam only when selling financial services, hence the name "The Distance Selling of Financial Services" directive.
/. editors don't read and/or understand the stories their submissions point to]
[insert compulsory commentary on how abhorrent it is that
Raising ships with ping-pong balls
Solar sails for spacecraft
Laser-powered spacecraft
Supersonic speeds underwater
Fake breastesses
Sometimes it feels so good to be a human being :)
"Has sensational journalism gone too far? Find out at eleven!" - John Stewart
"Although the cause of death has been established, the scientists are still arguing where the arrow was fired. Some say it was shot from a nearby cave full of primitive cave writing, some opponents claim it was fired from a closer grassy knoll. Some even go as far as saying there was more than one shooter, since the 'magic arrow' - as the scientists started to call it - traveled through Otzi in a manner which would be 'physically impossible and ballistically preposterous' for a single arrow, as expressed by one scientist, who prefers to remain anonymous"
I recently wrote a short story on kuro5hin about a related issue: what happens to us when we don't need memory at all, since we can get all required information from the web. The article can be found here.
-- MMMFrom the "news" article:
"Fortunately, he wasn't too bright because he left a lot of trails"
Then this mentally challenged kid went on to obliterate Undernet, brought down ISPs in Oslo and the UK and obtained root access to (several?) servers.
We are so lucky he's not too bright!
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I think TRUE happiness can only be found in the wanton indulgence of animals."
- Hobbes from Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson
Umm, sorry to break you this, but this has been done already. There have been experiments done with laser light propulsion. Here's the first link that I found
http://members.nbci.com/djm1947a/laserpow.html
or just plain lazy, a design based on a similar concept can be found here. For some really wild designs (like the "binary" clock) check out this. And to add some non-commercial links, here is a clock based on Blick's design for DIYers.
MotorMachineMercenary"I'm just not there"
-- Patrick Bateman
A method to taunt an adversary through a simple but effective manipulation of the five fingers of either or both hand(s). When a person feels the need to berate, reproach, denounce, lambaste or just plain piss off an antagonist, he or she folds the fingers into a fist, extends his or her arm with the folded fingers facing him or herself, and then deliberately unfolding his middle finger. Facial expressions, verbal taunts and a general hostile demeanor may be added for improved efficiency. An important note for the Office to consider is that this is an almost universally acknowledged method of reprisal, and that it also works in noisy surroundings, through windows, and language barriers.
/there/"
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I'm just not
- Patrick Bateman
This patent is to protect the technology to create "ice cubes"(tm). You place a tray (pictured) filled with water in the freezer, and a few hours later you have Ice Cubes (tm). Note that the size of the cubes varies, and that they can be shaped rectangular or other various shapes as outlined in Attachment #9a. These Ice Cubes (tm) can be used to chill drinks, foodstuffs and other substances, and in crushed form (refer to patent application #21,184,388) to treat bruises and swelling.
/there/"
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I'm just not
- Patrick Bateman
Found this patent #669 in the USPTO archives dating back to 1790s (note how cute it is how they have failed to trademark some obvious names for new technologies!):
/there/"
Gupta Advanced Water(tm) Distribution system (GAWD)(r) is a centralized method to distribute water(tm) to a large group of customers. This is achieved through a sophisticated network of "pipes", measuring the output of water(tm) with "meters" and giving the end-user the ability to control the amount of water(tm) received through "faucets". This patent is an extension to the earlier Wells and Buckets patent #47 by the Drexel Utilities of Maryland.
--
MotorMachineMercenary
"I'm just not
- Patrick Bateman
I'm sure I saw a strange phenomenon while watching the race with the Corvette C5-R 63! It was a long string of lights, that were 'dancing' with the car, maintaining the same speed (!) and finally accelerating into the horizon at speeds not humanly possible!!!
Please, if anybody is taking screenshots of this, it happened during the 42nd lap. This could be it, folks!
-- MotorMachineMercenary
Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves. -Lord Byron
I believe the point in question is that artists, satirists, etc. should be allowed to use trademarks in their works. I wonder what happens to Andy Warhols of this Brave New World (tm). His art included trademarked things like Campbell Soup can, Mercedes Benz prototypes and even Three Coke Bottles. --
MotorMachineMercenary
"Talent borrows, Genius steals...and Shit copies."
- The Designer's Republic
So what happens if you have a brain fart?
"You already have zero privacy -- get over it,"
Scott McNealy
CEO, Sun Microsystems
Journal of Transhumanism
Extropy Institute
World Transhumanist Association
-- MotorMachineMercenary
Although I'm not commenting on if the MPAA has a legitimate point here, or if the case is going after the real problem, I'd like to point a concern that is part of the reason why they are going to these lengths at this.
:) I feel that their motivations are not entirely to blame. History has proven piracy to be a major problem, if it is allowed to escalate.
MPAA is is concerned about the future of the movie industry. Large-scale privacy has affected the previously thriving Hong Kong movie industry drastically. They are not able to produce and finance movies in the same scale and number as they used to, because piracy puts the money into the pockets of organized crime bosses. In fact, movie directors, producers, writers and even actors and actresses held a demonstration last year against the rampant pirating in Hong Kong. This "grassroots"-picketing was an eye-opener to many HK-people. If it's too late remains to be seen.
MPAA is genuinely interested in preserving the industry. It might very well be that the case(s) demonstrate a knee-jerk reflex. But as a screenwriter (unproduced, but just wait
Me too! I'm glad I'm not the only extremely bright entity to have this fine day as a birthday!
:) other people with January 12th as their bday:
And just to get my moderation up
Kirstie Alley 1951
Jeff Bezos 1964
Rush Limbaugh 1951
Jack London 1876
Joe Frazier 1944
Howard Stern 1954
Hermann Goring 1893
--
MotorMachineMercenary
PANDA (noun) -- a large bear native to SE Asia. Eats shoots and leaves
Couldn't find the original story, but he got caught by a vigilant customer, who saw him swipe the card twice.
--
MotorMachineMercenary
Why was Episode I shitty? Oh well... (cracking knuckles)
There was no STORY! Lucas writing a long sequence of scenes, loosely tying them together (sometimes not), and masking the whole thing with dazzling visuals, and calling _that_ a movie was insulting to the general audience. Eyecandy, yes. Entertaining, maybe. Good story, hardly! I don't care if he says 'Episode I' was geared for children, they still deserve a good story!
Talking about children, I despised Lucas' way of handling "war" in Episode I. Showing children that war is fun, that funny things happen constantly in war, and that wars are won with comic accidents shows that Lucas is totally out of touch with reality. I'm not saying there should've been blood and gore, but giving us one line of "isa therea peoplea gonna diea?" to portray the horror of war is not enough.
And acting! Or rather the lack of it. Nobody, _nobody_ did even a decent job of acting in the movie. And I'm not talking about Jar Jar; I think the CGI programmers actually did the best job of "acting" in the movie. The sad thing is that the movie was filled with good actors and actresses: Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson etc. I don't know what the reason for this was, but my speculation is that maybe the actors had trouble relating to green screens. Or maybe Lucas was too restricting in his directing...
George Lucas hasn't directed a feature movie in more than twenty years, and it shows. It seems like he was too totalitarian in his effort. According to the 'Making of's I've seen, he was involved in every single aspect of the movie, starting from the design of the aliens and space ships down to the musical score. This might have been great for a small budget movie like the original 'Star Wars', but when were talking about 100+ million dollar budget, he is just in the way, and restricts the creativity and distracts himself and the people who do this stuff for living. It looks like him being busy with all kinds of stuff that is not his stuff kept him too busy with writing a good story! Or writing a story at all. The movie suffered from a desperate attempt to lay the groundwork for the next five (eight?) movies. Not an easy job obviously, but if you can't handle something, why do it alone?
George Lucas really disappointed me with this one. I kinda liked episodes 4-6, but this was a real flop in every sense of the word, except financially. I went to see it in the theater just for the incredible truel, the choreography by stunt co-ordinator/swordmaster Nick Gillard was just out of this world. It was like totally, awesome! Made my balls itch!
If Lucas does not come up with a good story for the next two episodes, I will not ruin a perfectly good two hours, which I would be better off doing something more productive. Like sleeping. That of course only in the case Natalie Portman will not be in the next episodes!
MotorMachineMercenary
--
Hey, shit is good! One billion trillion flies can't be wrong! -MMM
Authors' correction:
"Recalling horrific examples eugenics has had without taking into account the enlightenment of later 20th and early 21st century, citing false arbitrary, scientific or religious fears, or using neo-Luddite movies like Gattaca as an example as Jon Katz does, only detracts from the discussion."
Should read:
The way Jon Katz uses the neo-Luddite Gattaca as an example reminds me of other ways to stifle debate: recalling horrific examples eugenics has had without taking into account the enlightenment of later 20th and early 21st century, or citing false arbitrary, scientific or religious fears.
I'm terribly sorry about the confusing paragraph. I'll remember to review my revisions better next time!
--
MotorMachineMercenary
add the y to my nick, and you have my @hotmail.com address!
Unfortunately Jon Katz is on the wrong track, going in the wrong direction, and doesn't even know where he is headed. Recalling horrific examples eugenics has had without taking into account the enlightenment of later 20th and early 21st century, citing false arbitrary, scientific or religious fears, or using neo-Luddite movies like Gattaca as an example as Jon Katz does, only detracts from the discussion.
:). How end of the world for _us_, is in our hands.
T ranshumanism/) give the big picture, which is way beyond the scope of this reply. Next is the necessary research, experimentation and implementation of the new technologies. And hopefully a thriving human race, which can reach new height of intellectual, emotional and spiritual heights through augmentation by machines.
These examples are provoking, but not necessarily thought-provoking. Blaming, accusing, painting dreadful scenes of utter destruction of moral and ethical principles, civility, society, even human race is not conducive to critical thinking and constructive debate.
By denying genetic research or experimentation would not stop anything. There will always be somebody who is willing to do the tests regardless of international laws or ethical concerns. That is exactly why we should have debate on the implications of gene research, encourage responsible experimantation, and make researchers accountable for their findings.
There is so much potential in gene research that its importance is hard to exaggerate. Maybe the most important and far-reaching is that understanding genes might be the only way we can prevent machines dethroning us. AI will become self-conscious due to advances in AI and brain research and Moore's law, a singularity in technology is achieved (that's when technological progress-curve is nearly vertical) in the next, say, 50 years. This means "the end of the world as we know it" (sing to the tune of REM
We can use our new knowledge of genes to enable us make human race better. Transhumanist ideas (http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Philosophy/
--
MotorMachineMercenary
add the y to my nick, and you have my @hotmail.com address!
"Mister rabbit says, 'A moment of realization is worth a thousand prayers.'"
- Mickey, Natural Born Killers