Re:What does Winnie the Pooh think about this?
on
Comet LINEAR Erupts
·
· Score: 1
Hmmm. I'm responding to this two days after it was posted. I'm sure I'll be heard...
I find it annoying when people associate rationalism with atheism. Don't they realize they are proving themselves wrong by taking such an irrational approach, making such sweeping generalizations?
Just because not everyone has the same arrogance or flattened perspective, just because some people are able to admit that there are deficiencies in human perceptions, does this make them ignorant?
There is a difference between killing God and forcing yourself to forget Him.
I didn't think anyone could echo my sentiment any more perfectly... There was such a spirit of discovery in early synth music that I can't get over -- the sort of spirit of ingenuity that only comes around when there is some newly emerging field.
Come on. Give the guy some slack (grin). He's obviously sitting at behind some desk at some large corporation wasting his employer's time and bandwidth to do what? To post on slashdot. Now if that isn't noble, tell me what is. (argon)
If we assume the actions of the record companies are indeed immoral
And so if I, for instance, believe that some particular person is immoral, that gives me the right to steal from him? Come on! If you don't like what the recording industry is doing, there are ways to protest besides stealing from them (and incidentally from the artists you claim to defend). Have you ever heard of boycott? Have you ever heard of supporting independant artists?
I think the argument for any technology is that it enhances or aids an individual in their interaction with the rest of reality. That is what justifies artificial channels. And what it sounds like you are saying is that the means of communication do not change as a child grows. I must remind you that humans are quite capable of development that is not based on genetic predisposition. That is why I think that it is good that we explore ways to enhance our abilities to percieve and interact.
I tend to believe that the only reason that it is so much simpler to go up and talk to someone is because most people are more used to it. The reason more technologically advanced means of communication are considered inferior to direct physical interaction is because the new technology was built trying to emulate the old forms of communication. However, in a scenario where the ease of technologically-aided communication considerably outweighs any advantages of physical communication, I think we will find (and already have) that new methods communicating develop that though not necissarily better in all aspects than conventional communication in some ways allow for greater understanding between individuals.
I think that the form of communication arises from the necessity for it, and as of yet, we have no real nead for the sort of dreamy-eyed concept of "telecommuting" that some people desire or expect. But if the need arises, and "telecommuting" becomes commonplace, a new sort of communication adapted to this medium will become prevalent, and the same sort of productivity gain (the whole is greater than the sum) will occur. I think my point is, communication is as adaptive as humanity itself, and that any idea or concept of how this will fit into a greater scheme will inevitibly crumble to the chaotic and self-serving nature of biological life.
... or something like that. If I could only show it to you... =)
You forget that 50% of the Crusoe's coolness factor is based on its low power consumption. Even if the chip would run on a socket-7 (which I sincerly doubt. The chip has some mboard features built in), it wouldn't be able to utilize the power-saving techniques...
The point that I was trying (unsuccessfully) to make was more philosophical than scientific. I was trying to say that everything is moving in some sense, and that we are left only with a practical interpretation of immobility. And in this, practicality is how directly something relates to a person's perceptions.
Relative to the distance between stars and the length of time of human observation, stars can be considered immobile, just as we consider the shifting techtonic [sp!?] plates unmoving.
Once over the inital shock and utter rejection of that statement as complete ignorance or a really poor joke, I realized that in fact it is more logically correct to say that stars are stationary. If you first recognize that the concept of not moving only exists as a relative term from a human perspective, then you see that indeed stars do not move.
What I find interesting is that this points out how the definition of fact changes drastically from one reference frame to another.
That commercial was very funny. Or at least it might have been, if it would have mentioned anything vaguely related to PCR!
For God's sake, PCR has nothing to do with genetic alteration, it's just a simple tool for duplicating DNA. If you are going to make blanket generalizations about genetic engineering, don't try to insert some term that you don't understand the meaning of. If you knew anything about PCR even, you would realize that it is just using the natural enzyme (polymerase) to duplicate DNA, a process that occurs in your body in almost every cell.
Or, you could just be pointing out how incredibly stupid and inept commercials can be at using snazzy-sounding technical terms, in which case, touche.
Gibson's short story "Johnny Mnemonic" and novel Neuromancer take place in the same universe, and have some overlap (I seem to remember that Johnny is mentioned in Neuromancer, and Molly is an important charecter in both works). I believe there are some references to biological alterations in both of them (like the lo-tek's fangs, claws, etc), but they were more of the Chiba City sort, not things involving genetics.
Re:this would save me seconds a week!
on
Linux BIOS
·
· Score: 1
Hey, don't blame me! I run Seti@home to chew up all that excess computation time. And you would accuse me of wasting energy.
hrm... Some people do still find the word "fuck" vulgar and feel that "fsck" is more appropriate. I mean, nobody would say that they enjoy a good fsck, just because fsck takes a long time and it might have some bad news about your filesystem. With "fuck" you have that ambiguity over whether it means something bad or good.
My favorite MS Word easter egg was once when I typed in some compound word and the spelling checker locked into an infinite loop, unable to decide if I should have written it as two words or one.
And that is what is fscking the Internet over, too! I don't like being a socialist, but I'm tired of giving authority to those who dedicate their lives to their own greed. The way I see it, commercialization of the Internet has added virtually nothing. Sure it's convienient to be able to order virtually anything without leaving the comfort of your home, but torrents of spam and sites whose only purpose is to coax a CC number out of you have congested something that was originally a means of distributing meaningful information. Supply/demand serves only to level everything to the lowest expectations, not to promote development.
So how does this make government regulation any better, you ask? Well, at least I am paying for the service directly, and I have some say in what is developed. In a laissez faire scenario, my only freedom is as a consumer, where choice is limited by what is on the market and my influence is proportional to how much money I have.
I don't understand how government providing/regulating internetworking would in any way compromise individual freedom. It isn't like this is a suggestion for regulation of content. With government control of internetworking service, we wouldn't have problems of ISPs failing to back their users when they are threatened with lawsuits or DoS attacks.
As for complaining about taxes, I prefer to pay money to an organization that I have some actual representation in, after all, believe it or not, we still live in a pseudo-democracy. Blaming the "goverment" for anything is the same as blaming yourself. If you are going to gripe about anything, at least target bureaucracy or the innefficency of the system!
Hmmm... All my favorites are in the "surreal/creepy" category. Utena is very good, and EP 01-13 are available on DVD. Vampire Princess Miyu is great, but it is only available fansubbed.
I would also like to add another category to your list...
Opera
Marmalade Boy (soap) Legend of the Galactic Heroes (space)
Your right to privacy is the right to the ignorance of those around you, and I despise ignorance. Why do we insist on limiting selective individual's ability to observe the world around them? We do not blind people who cannot see just because some people cannot, so why should we effectively blind people who have the ability or insight to see beyond what is normal? All we are doing is punishing people for their intelligence and scientific inquisitiveness.
And if the argument for "privacy" is based on the potential for misuse of sensitive information, how can we justify punishing people for acts of indescretion before they are committed? By condemning the acts that could possibly lead to malady, we are not only doing something that is morally problematic, but also promoting the general delinquency of those interested in the pursuit of knowledge.
Classifying people who try to observe every aspect of their environment as criminals pressures them into becoming what they are seen as. And for the few that find room to explore and maintain their integrity, this world is a harsh and unaccepting place.
What!? That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard! Open source art? That is taking fanaticism to a new level! There is a very fundamental difference between source code and art. Code is based primarily on functionallity pragmatism and efficency. Art is asthetics. A non-consolodated viewpoint, or group contribution would level the art to the sort of over-processed meaningless crap that can be found in everyones favorite M$ OS.
I think his point was that since pirated software/information is illegal, and copyright infringement is vigorously enforced everywhere, it takes a great deal of effort to find and retrieve intellectual property illegitimatly.
I have heard of this 24-hour software trial before. My understanding of the matter was that a piece of software is bought by and individual, and instead of that person installing the software onto their own computer, they allow others to "check it out" for a short period of time. (i.e. 24 hours). However, if more than one person has this same software "checked out" at the same time, this would clearly break the agreement to use the software on only one system at a time. I don't think there are any special laws to allow this.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmmm. I'm responding to this two days after it was posted. I'm sure I'll be heard...
I find it annoying when people associate rationalism with atheism. Don't they realize they are proving themselves wrong by taking such an irrational approach, making such sweeping generalizations?
Just because not everyone has the same arrogance or flattened perspective, just because some people are able to admit that there are deficiencies in human perceptions, does this make them ignorant?
There is a difference between killing God and forcing yourself to forget Him.
It looked like cinderblocks to me. Foam rubber would be completely ineffective at breaking the fall. Cinderblocks work alot better.
1 0"
I wanna see them drop the unit into a swimming pool and then see how well it works (esp with the extension cord shorting into the water).
"3.14159265358979323846264279502884197169399375
-- nath
I didn't think anyone could echo my sentiment any more perfectly... There was such a spirit of discovery in early synth music that I can't get over -- the sort of spirit of ingenuity that only comes around when there is some newly emerging field.
-- nath
Come on. Give the guy some slack (grin). He's obviously sitting at behind some desk at some large corporation wasting his employer's time and bandwidth to do what? To post on slashdot. Now if that isn't noble, tell me what is. (argon)
-- nath
If we assume the actions of the record companies are indeed immoral
And so if I, for instance, believe that some particular person is immoral, that gives me the right to steal from him? Come on! If you don't like what the recording industry is doing, there are ways to protest besides stealing from them (and incidentally from the artists you claim to defend). Have you ever heard of boycott? Have you ever heard of supporting independant artists?
--nath
I think the argument for any technology is that it enhances or aids an individual in their interaction with the rest of reality. That is what justifies artificial channels. And what it sounds like you are saying is that the means of communication do not change as a child grows. I must remind you that humans are quite capable of development that is not based on genetic predisposition. That is why I think that it is good that we explore ways to enhance our abilities to percieve and interact.
I tend to believe that the only reason that it is so much simpler to go up and talk to someone is because most people are more used to it. The reason more technologically advanced means of communication are considered inferior to direct physical interaction is because the new technology was built trying to emulate the old forms of communication. However, in a scenario where the ease of technologically-aided communication considerably outweighs any advantages of physical communication, I think we will find (and already have) that new methods communicating develop that though not necissarily better in all aspects than conventional communication in some ways allow for greater understanding between individuals.
... or something like that. If I could only show it to you... =)
I think that the form of communication arises from the necessity for it, and as of yet, we have no real nead for the sort of dreamy-eyed concept of "telecommuting" that some people desire or expect. But if the need arises, and "telecommuting" becomes commonplace, a new sort of communication adapted to this medium will become prevalent, and the same sort of productivity gain (the whole is greater than the sum) will occur. I think my point is, communication is as adaptive as humanity itself, and that any idea or concept of how this will fit into a greater scheme will inevitibly crumble to the chaotic and self-serving nature of biological life.
--nath
You forget that 50% of the Crusoe's coolness factor is based on its low power consumption. Even if the chip would run on a socket-7 (which I sincerly doubt. The chip has some mboard features built in), it wouldn't be able to utilize the power-saving techniques...
The point that I was trying (unsuccessfully) to make was more philosophical than scientific. I was trying to say that everything is moving in some sense, and that we are left only with a practical interpretation of immobility. And in this, practicality is how directly something relates to a person's perceptions.
Relative to the distance between stars and the length of time of human observation, stars can be considered immobile, just as we consider the shifting techtonic [sp!?] plates unmoving.
Once over the inital shock and utter rejection of that statement as complete ignorance or a really poor joke, I realized that in fact it is more logically correct to say that stars are stationary. If you first recognize that the concept of not moving only exists as a relative term from a human perspective, then you see that indeed stars do not move.
What I find interesting is that this points out how the definition of fact changes drastically from one reference frame to another.
That commercial was very funny. Or at least it might have been, if it would have mentioned anything vaguely related to PCR!
For God's sake, PCR has nothing to do with genetic alteration, it's just a simple tool for duplicating DNA. If you are going to make blanket generalizations about genetic engineering, don't try to insert some term that you don't understand the meaning of. If you knew anything about PCR even, you would realize that it is just using the natural enzyme (polymerase) to duplicate DNA, a process that occurs in your body in almost every cell.
Or, you could just be pointing out how incredibly stupid and inept commercials can be at using snazzy-sounding technical terms, in which case, touche.
Dear AC,
I really like
111111101101 => 0xFED (C) or FEDh (asm)
or, in base 10
4077
Unfortunatly, 4077 also makes a nice
PIN number...
love,
00110001 00110011 00111001 00101110
00110001 00110110 00111001 00101110
00110001 00110101 00110110 00101110
00110000 00110101 00110010
Gibson's short story "Johnny Mnemonic" and novel Neuromancer take place in the same universe, and have some overlap (I seem to remember that Johnny is mentioned in Neuromancer, and Molly is an important charecter in both works). I believe there are some references to biological alterations in both of them (like the lo-tek's fangs, claws, etc), but they were more of the Chiba City sort, not things involving genetics.
Hey, don't blame me! I run Seti@home to chew up all that excess computation time. And you would accuse me of wasting energy.
hrm... Some people do still find the word "fuck" vulgar and feel that "fsck" is more appropriate. I mean, nobody would say that they enjoy a good fsck, just because fsck takes a long time and it might have some bad news about your filesystem. With "fuck" you have that ambiguity over whether it means something bad or good.
--nath
My favorite MS Word easter egg was once when I typed in some compound word and the spelling checker locked into an infinite loop, unable to decide if I should have written it as two words or one.
Yeah. Sometimes to relieve netscape related stress I try to get lynx to crash.
And that is what is fscking the Internet over, too! I don't like being a socialist, but I'm tired of giving authority to those who dedicate their lives to their own greed. The way I see it, commercialization of the Internet has added virtually nothing. Sure it's convienient to be able to order virtually anything without leaving the comfort of your home, but torrents of spam and sites whose only purpose is to coax a CC number out of you have congested something that was originally a means of distributing meaningful information. Supply/demand serves only to level everything to the lowest expectations, not to promote development.
So how does this make government regulation any better, you ask? Well, at least I am paying for the service directly, and I have some say in what is developed. In a laissez faire scenario, my only freedom is as a consumer, where choice is limited by what is on the market and my influence is proportional to how much money I have.
I don't understand how government providing/regulating internetworking would in any way compromise individual freedom. It isn't like this is a suggestion for regulation of content. With government control of internetworking service, we wouldn't have problems of ISPs failing to back their users when they are threatened with lawsuits or DoS attacks.
As for complaining about taxes, I prefer to pay money to an organization that I have some actual representation in, after all, believe it or not, we still live in a pseudo-democracy. Blaming the "goverment" for anything is the same as blaming yourself. If you are going to gripe about anything, at least target bureaucracy or the innefficency of the system!
-- nath
Hmmm... All my favorites are in the "surreal/creepy" category. Utena is very good, and EP 01-13 are available on DVD. Vampire Princess Miyu is great, but it is only available fansubbed.
I would also like to add another category to your list...
Opera
Marmalade Boy (soap)
Legend of the Galactic Heroes (space)
Your right to privacy is the right to the ignorance of those around you, and I despise ignorance. Why do we insist on limiting selective individual's ability to observe the world around them? We do not blind people who cannot see just because some people cannot, so why should we effectively blind people who have the ability or insight to see beyond what is normal? All we are doing is punishing people for their intelligence and scientific inquisitiveness.
And if the argument for "privacy" is based on the potential for misuse of sensitive information, how can we justify punishing people for acts of indescretion before they are committed? By condemning the acts that could possibly lead to malady, we are not only doing something that is morally problematic, but also promoting the general delinquency of those interested in the pursuit of knowledge.
Classifying people who try to observe every aspect of their environment as criminals pressures them into becoming what they are seen as. And for the few that find room to explore and maintain their integrity, this world is a harsh and unaccepting place.
Don't worry about being anal, fiber optic cable (At least single-mode FDDI) can only go 40km, not quite the 300 miles that was originally mentioned.
crummy comments are worse.
What!? That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard! Open source art? That is taking fanaticism to a new level! There is a very fundamental difference between source code and art. Code is based primarily on functionallity pragmatism and efficency. Art is asthetics. A non-consolodated viewpoint, or group contribution would level the art to the sort of over-processed meaningless crap that can be found in everyones favorite M$ OS.
I think his point was that since pirated software/information is illegal, and copyright infringement is vigorously enforced everywhere, it takes a great deal of effort to find and retrieve intellectual property illegitimatly.
I have heard of this 24-hour software trial before. My understanding of the matter was that a piece of software is bought by and individual, and instead of that person installing the software onto their own computer, they allow others to "check it out" for a short period of time. (i.e. 24 hours).
However, if more than one person has this same software "checked out" at the same time, this would clearly break the agreement to use the software on only one system at a time. I don't think there are any special laws to allow this.