The idea of protecting everyone all of the time is often the "wedge" that is used to start the totalitarian states.
Can you name one where this was true? In Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and China, political control and ideological purity were the motivation and the wedge.
There was also the idea that the police control was acceptable because they would protect everyone, and that was "why" they needed extrodinary powers. No government comes into control without some reason to placate the people, unless it is a foreign invasion. And some times even then. After all, the people outnumber the government "want-to-be's".
If I booby trap my house to kill intruders, is that autonomous?
The Engineer's answer is yes, most certainly! It is a "horrible example" of everything that is dangerous about autonomous weapons, to the extent of having no target recognition at all.
That opens the question: Do the existing laws banning mines, in at least some areas, also ban robot weapons? I would think so...
That is the popular meaning, but keep in mind that wikipedia is neither complete nor always accurate. (After all, it is on the Internet!) 8-)
The idea of protecting everyone all of the time is often the "wedge" that is used to start the totalitarian states. It is an excuse, of course. At least for some of those proposing it. But countries would not be "suckered into" such things if they did not think they were gaining something benificial.
I was going by the "technical" meaning of the term.
The short and easy answer is a regular harddrive. The magnetic patterns will usually survive, even if the electronics do not. There are recovery services that can get the data back, who you don't have to pay unless there is a fire.
But of course the best answer is "off site", like they said. Just putting a flash drive in your car might be enough, although not as secure from theft.
A lot depends on what you concern is. Like which is more important, recovering the data or securing it from theft? What locations can you have reliable access to? How often do you need to refresh it?
Also, how long does it have to last? If that is a long time, many types of media will be obsolete and not readable on new computers. In that case you might have to also store a computer with it, or at least the necessary drive.
Here in Ontario we have a government obsessed with deploying wind turbines despite the fairly obvious fact that the intermittent winds here almost totally mismatch the power demand curve....
Laws like that are because Engineers are far too smart to run for political office. Same for all countries, I think.
Governments would hate for everyone to be self sufficient as it takes away their ability to control our lives. Their ultimate wet dream is the iWatch that will zap you if you don't behave appropriately. Expect any tech that allows cutting the power line completely to your house to be scuttled for as long as possible.
That's actually at least somewhat true. Some people are convinced that they could successfully control the world. (They are wrong and it can be proved mathemetically, of course.)
But it is not that governments are that way. It is that any large concentration of power attracts people like that. Including governments, but also other large organizations, even some charities.
None the less our electric bill is down at least 80% from pre-PV days.
Does that include the cost of the system?
Probably not.
The cost of installation should be calculated here as though the money was borrowed from a bank and paid off each month. Then add that payment to the other monthly payments to get a comparison value per month.
This would automatically include the "alternative cost", of not being able to use the money for something else. At least as an "average" value on the money market. (Of course the value to you would be different, depending on your situation.)
Normal watt-hour meters will run backwards, and always have. But the power company can not afford to do that very much, so they will put in a dual meter if it happens a lot on your line.
That means that if your meter runs backwards when you generate, they probably have just not noticed yet!
... The only way I've managed to reduce things is trees to the south of the house to block as much direct sunlight as possible. And that solution makes solar power impossible, of course.
Those calculations do not factor-in utility companies that will screw you over if you're attempting to do home-solar or other local power generation....
That's true. Some of the power companies are paying way too little for the power you put back.
But don't expect the power company to buy your power at the exact same rate that they sell it. Even if they had no profit, they still need to make enough to maintain the grid it's self. And if you are using the grid instead of a battery, then you are "consuming" a benefit.
What's funny about these is that many of them coexist with legal precedent establishing that the police have no duty to protect citizens. So in New York for example, cops have no requirement to interfere, but ordinary citizens can be guilty of a crime if they do not.
I have never heard of a requirement that bystanders interfere. But it is quite true that the Police do not have any requirement to protect individual citizens. (Contrary to popular opinion!)
For one thing, in the US it is assumed that citizens can protect themselves, at least long enough for the Police to get there. For another, it is impractical because the Police would be sued after every crime and would have no time to protect anyone.
The actual job of the Police is to arrest criminals -after- the crime. Most Police try to protect people as best they can, but they can't be everywhere.
There are places where the Police are tasked with protecting everyone, they are technically called "Police States". And it is generally agreed around the world that no one really wants to live in a Police State.
... Because system designers aren't bloody morons.
Well... most of them are not morons. But some of them are, in at least some situations. Just look at the security provisions in a lot of businesses, that are getting hacked!
It is easy to quantify. And the quantification is "4/5ths of commercial airplane accidents are caused by humans doing the wrong thing".
Or at least, the humans get blamed by the people that built the equipment.
If you don't trust someone who is physically on the airplane, what makes you think that you can trust someone two years ago in a different city, writing software! 8-P
-1 disagree. a costume isn't a problem, but blocking the face is a problem. the face is how an actor expresses emotion, and if you block the face then it might as well be cgi.
who has their face occluded in LOTR? I can't think of a single major character with the exception of gollum.
No, actually that's not it. Real actors can act anyway.
The thing with the faces is because the actors want potential employers to recognize them. They can sometimes be more worried about their next job than the current job. Which in any business is a very bad thing.
But both things can be a practical consideration. So not blocking the face is good, if it is ok for the story.
... Meanwhile the NSA is excited to announce that a talented & mysterious outsider, Annakin Vader (Darth to his friends!) has been recruited to head up the agency. "It's an exciting time, a new leader for a new day" said the NSA communications representative.
Um... You think you are just joking, don't you. 8-P
April Fools Day is a government conspiracy to force the public to change to a new government mandated calender! Don't drink the coolaid! Joking other people is helping the consiracy!
No, not the US government. I think it was the Italian government, a long time ago... 8-) No Joke. 8-}
The "religious hatred" for goto came from a very real problem: so-called "spaghetti code"....
Mod this up.
The problem with classical GOTO was that it could go -anywhere-. And often did. Even error handling should not be able to do that, cleanup must be done.
If you don't program like the PHB and the Salesmen tell you, you -might- get fired. But if you do, either you -will- get fired or the company will go bust and you will lose your job anyway...
... Now I'm a biology major, with a focus on genetics. I want to understand how natural programs work. Maybe even write some of my own one day, with tons of example works to draw from out in the [actual] field.
This is actually a good place to start a new area of work. I think it will be big, soon.
But go see a couple of Zombie movies, just to keep you from getting careless!! 8-)
The Philosophy department teaches two-valued logic, True/False. Real world human logic is n-valued and that is taught in the STEM courses. It's called Algebra.
But it is true that the STEM courses tend to assume people tell the truth. For recognizing liars, cheats and politicians you do need a Philosophy course.
That sounds just like a new programmer faced with working on legacy code. The first thing they want to do is delete everything that they don't understand!
If we didn't need it, it would not be there. There is no room in nature for wasted effort.
They said the same thing about the appendix, for decades, but now we know it's not true. The appendix is necessary for propper digestion, look it up...
Slashdot Mirror
The idea of protecting everyone all of the time is often the "wedge" that is used to start the totalitarian states.
Can you name one where this was true? In Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and China, political control and ideological purity were the motivation and the wedge.
There was also the idea that the police control was acceptable because they would protect everyone, and that was "why" they needed extrodinary powers. No government comes into control without some reason to placate the people, unless it is a foreign invasion. And some times even then. After all, the people outnumber the government "want-to-be's".
If I booby trap my house to kill intruders, is that autonomous?
The Engineer's answer is yes, most certainly!
It is a "horrible example" of everything that is dangerous about autonomous weapons, to the extent of having no target recognition at all.
That opens the question: Do the existing laws banning mines, in at least some areas, also ban robot weapons?
I would think so...
"Soi-disant" means "so-called" for anyone else curious.
Thanks, I needed that! 8-)
There are places where the Police are tasked with protecting everyone, they are technically called "Police States".
Police state is a term denoting government that exercises power arbitrarily through the police. There has never been such a state, which tasked its police with "protecting everyone."
That is the popular meaning, but keep in mind that wikipedia is neither complete nor always accurate. (After all, it is on the Internet!) 8-)
The idea of protecting everyone all of the time is often the "wedge" that is used to start the totalitarian states. It is an excuse, of course. At least for some of those proposing it. But countries would not be "suckered into" such things if they did not think they were gaining something benificial.
I was going by the "technical" meaning of the term.
The short and easy answer is a regular harddrive. The magnetic patterns will usually survive, even if the electronics do not. There are recovery services that can get the data back, who you don't have to pay unless there is a fire.
But of course the best answer is "off site", like they said. Just putting a flash drive in your car might be enough, although not as secure from theft.
A lot depends on what you concern is. Like which is more important, recovering the data or securing it from theft? What locations can you have reliable access to? How often do you need to refresh it?
Also, how long does it have to last? If that is a long time, many types of media will be obsolete and not readable on new computers. In that case you might have to also store a computer with it, or at least the necessary drive.
Here in Ontario we have a government obsessed with deploying wind turbines despite the fairly obvious fact that the intermittent winds here almost totally mismatch the power demand curve. ...
Laws like that are because Engineers are far too smart to run for political office. Same for all countries, I think.
Governments would hate for everyone to be self sufficient as it takes away their ability to control our lives. Their ultimate wet dream is the iWatch that will zap you if you don't behave appropriately. Expect any tech that allows cutting the power line completely to your house to be scuttled for as long as possible.
That's actually at least somewhat true. Some people are convinced that they could successfully control the world. (They are wrong and it can be proved mathemetically, of course.)
But it is not that governments are that way. It is that any large concentration of power attracts people like that. Including governments, but also other large organizations, even some charities.
None the less our electric bill is down at least 80% from pre-PV days.
Does that include the cost of the system?
Probably not.
The cost of installation should be calculated here as though the money was borrowed from a bank and paid off each month. Then add that payment to the other monthly payments to get a comparison value per month.
This would automatically include the "alternative cost", of not being able to use the money for something else. At least as an "average" value on the money market. (Of course the value to you would be different, depending on your situation.)
Normal watt-hour meters will run backwards, and always have. But the power company can not afford to do that very much, so they will put in a dual meter if it happens a lot on your line.
That means that if your meter runs backwards when you generate, they probably have just not noticed yet!
... The only way I've managed to reduce things is trees to the south of the house to block as much direct sunlight as possible. And that solution makes solar power impossible, of course.
Um... Don't the solar panels shield the roof?
Those calculations do not factor-in utility companies that will screw you over if you're attempting to do home-solar or other local power generation. ...
That's true. Some of the power companies are paying way too little for the power you put back.
But don't expect the power company to buy your power at the exact same rate that they sell it. Even if they had no profit, they still need to make enough to maintain the grid it's self. And if you are using the grid instead of a battery, then you are "consuming" a benefit.
See Good Samaritan law
What's funny about these is that many of them coexist with legal precedent establishing that the police have no duty to protect citizens. So in New York for example, cops have no requirement to interfere, but ordinary citizens can be guilty of a crime if they do not.
I have never heard of a requirement that bystanders interfere. But it is quite true that the Police do not have any requirement to protect individual citizens. (Contrary to popular opinion!)
For one thing, in the US it is assumed that citizens can protect themselves, at least long enough for the Police to get there. For another, it is impractical because the Police would be sued after every crime and would have no time to protect anyone.
The actual job of the Police is to arrest criminals -after- the crime. Most Police try to protect people as best they can, but they can't be everywhere.
There are places where the Police are tasked with protecting everyone, they are technically called "Police States". And it is generally agreed around the world that no one really wants to live in a Police State.
... Because system designers aren't bloody morons.
Well... most of them are not morons. But some of them are, in at least some situations. Just look at the security provisions in a lot of businesses, that are getting hacked!
And I say that as a Systems Engineer.
It is easy to quantify. And the quantification is "4/5ths of commercial airplane accidents are caused by humans doing the wrong thing".
Or at least, the humans get blamed by the people that built the equipment.
If you don't trust someone who is physically on the airplane, what makes you think that you can trust someone two years ago in a different city, writing software! 8-P
To quote an old saying, "90% of anything is bullshit". And that applies to the internet even more than other things.
Of course the other 10% might be diamonds (with a little luck). But if you can't tell the difference, then you will fail.
In other words, Wikipedia is not proof!
-1 disagree. a costume isn't a problem, but blocking the face is a problem. the face is how an actor expresses emotion, and if you block the face then it might as well be cgi.
who has their face occluded in LOTR? I can't think of a single major character with the exception of gollum.
No, actually that's not it. Real actors can act anyway.
The thing with the faces is because the actors want potential employers to recognize them. They can sometimes be more worried about their next job than the current job. Which in any business is a very bad thing.
But both things can be a practical consideration. So not blocking the face is good, if it is ok for the story.
... Meanwhile the NSA is excited to announce that a talented & mysterious outsider, Annakin Vader (Darth to his friends!) has been recruited to head up the agency. "It's an exciting time, a new leader for a new day" said the NSA communications representative.
Um... You think you are just joking, don't you. 8-P
April Fools Day is a government conspiracy to force the public to change to a new government mandated calender! Don't drink the coolaid! Joking other people is helping the consiracy!
No, not the US government. I think it was the Italian government, a long time ago... 8-)
No Joke. 8-}
What's that in parsecs?
Many... (waves hands) Ma...ny!
8-)
The "religious hatred" for goto came from a very real problem: so-called "spaghetti code". ...
Mod this up.
The problem with classical GOTO was that it could go -anywhere-. And often did. Even error handling should not be able to do that, cleanup must be done.
If you don't program like the PHB and the Salesmen tell you, you -might- get fired. But if you do, either you -will- get fired or the company will go bust and you will lose your job anyway...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
probably one of my favorite points from the second Mass Effect. human society without culture AND science is doomed to die.
Wow.
I don't remember that from my Mass Effect 2 game, was it an add-on? But then, it was a while ago...
Why bother?
Because even if the odds of success are small, the odds of success if you don't try are -zero-.
... Now I'm a biology major, with a focus on genetics. I want to understand how natural programs work. Maybe even write some of my own one day, with tons of example works to draw from out in the [actual] field.
This is actually a good place to start a new area of work. I think it will be big, soon.
But go see a couple of Zombie movies, just to keep you from getting careless!! 8-)
Logic is taught in the philosophy department.
The Philosophy department teaches two-valued logic, True/False. Real world human logic is n-valued and that is taught in the STEM courses. It's called Algebra.
But it is true that the STEM courses tend to assume people tell the truth. For recognizing liars, cheats and politicians you do need a Philosophy course.
That sounds just like a new programmer faced with working on legacy code. The first thing they want to do is delete everything that they don't understand!
If we didn't need it, it would not be there. There is no room in nature for wasted effort.
They said the same thing about the appendix, for decades, but now we know it's not true. The appendix is necessary for propper digestion, look it up...