Facebook reminds me of many old sayings, like "don't walk near the lava", or "stay away from the gators", or "here there be dragons". Best bet is to avoid it.
It got a smile, so more than a golf clap, but less than a LOL etc. Note that I am serious in providing comedy feedback here; you got the twist right -- it should happen as close to the end of the sentence as possible. (My favorite example: "Great minds think a lot", because the twist isn't the last word -- it's the last syllable.)
Thanks for the errata; I was going to chime in.:) I do want to remark on your signature, though: Carl Sagan seems like a sufficiently-vested authority, so I believe the quote from him that you state.:)
And, I just have to say I love the fortune, as it self-applies: "If you mess with a thing long enough, it'll break. -- Schmidt"
Thanks Paul! I just bought the book "The Pleasure Trap". I'm in the middle of "The Diamond Cutter" (which I highly recommend to you!) so it will be a bit before I start it, but I was intrigued by the Amazon write-up and comments. "The Diamond Cutter" is about a Buddhist-trained man entering the world of diamonds, and the lessons learned through applying Buddhist practices to business. It's really neat.
In fact, one that I've already started applying: when I get upset at someone's behavior, put myself in their shoes and try to understand their world. Someone cuts me off in traffic: "Perhaps their child was bleeding in the back seat and they were rushing to the hospital." (A bit grim...), or "They might be tired/distracted/angry at their spouse -- and I should hang back and let them overtake, because whether it's malice or incompetence, if they hit me it would be bad." I've found that this mindset works wonders, not only in reducing my anxiety in situations, but also by increasing my empathy towards the other party -- which makes my communication with them better formed, and better received. Anyway, I'm around halfway through it, and am enjoying it.
I like your take on the prohibition laws as being artificial scarcity.
The horror of them, though -- consider the amount of money our citizens have spent on inferior medical treatments, which have negative side-effects up to and including death, when if we had not passed unconstitutional laws and enforced them as if they were constitutional (i.e., that is conspiracy), we would be more healthy as a society and thus would be better able to out-compete other countries. ("More healthy" is deliberately ambiguous; we'd be more healthy in many ways: reduced cancers; reduced prison population; reduced government expenses at all levels in pursuing making objects and their consumption and sale illegal; increased respect for the rest of the laws; reduced traffic accidents/injuries/fatalities (when everything is available there is less binge activity, like in southern Europe; and also studies show high drivers are better than drunk); reduced crime as prices would be lower without enforced artificial scarcity; reduced expenses on the producers' part, because they no longer need to hide their operations; and probably many more, but that's a good start -- and we can never go back and redo it, but we can make the change now to stop it -- support Ron Paul, like Obi Wan, he's our only hope.)
Rat Park was interesting. One could even argue that our prohibition laws create a sort of inverse Rat Park -- the kind of environment in which the organism prefers to continue dosing itself, knowing the future is grim. So add to the horror, the enjoyment of millions (billions worldwide, thanks to our influence on other countries' sovereign laws, our assassinations, etc) at have a future to think about and look forward to.
In reviewing our earlier threads I noticed the practice of Native Americans[1] putting a mistake in everything they produced, so I have followed suit.:)
I also saw our talk about the gold under the WTC. More recently, I've come to view the vampire squid and other 1%ers as similar to the aliens in "Cowboys and Aliens" -- the way that the gold was just sucked off the table, burning through the roof on its way to the aliens' ship, forever disappearing from our economy. And damaging real estate in the process.
And I just watched The Secret Powers of Time -- thank you! I will watch more of those, it was very well done.
[1] -- I had originally written "American Indians", then changed it. Then I had the thought, from the mind of an angry bigot parent, "Dammit my kids don't play 'Cowboys and Native Americans'!!!" I really liked that thought, actually, because it could be a good response (apart from the first word, perhaps) to someone being "too politically correct." Regardless of whether they were discussing Indians of any form. So that's pretty cool, to learn something from correcting a "typo." Cheers!
Hi Paul, just wanted to let you know that this was the post that triggered me to Friend you (we've had cordial discussions in the past). I really like your idea of getting everyone off the planet, especially the exponential build part of it -- because some of those built resources could be sent down the gravity well, helping repair any necessary infrastructure more cheaply and thus speeding up the process of emigration.
The reason that I am telling you that I Friended you is because Slashdot does not let me know when (and why) a new Friend arrives. And, every time I make that type of post, I am modded Redundant or Off-Topic. So -- is there perhaps a setting that I am just missing which does alert us as to the who, when, and why, and is that why I was modded this way for being, as I see it, courteous and Informative?[1]
[1] --Informative to the other user, at least -- and, arguably, to a larger subset of the readers as well, who know us in common.
Sibling said Bitcoins; I add that such a "secure cash monitoring system" would surely watch for people who have a propensity for purchasing gold coins over time -- and then investigate them more thoroughly for illegal activity.
Of course, there could be many layers; still, when "follow the money" is brain-dead simple, those types of "security through obscurity" schemes will fail.
You are the one who is trolling, by repeating lies. Many people have had heroin or heroin-derived substances administered to them medically and none have developed a "powerful addiction which sacrifices everything else for one more taste." As parent pointed out, there are many more substances that are much more addictive than opiates.
I am sorry someone you cared about was hurt by them, but outlawing substances provably does more harm than good. Proper treatment, like they have in the Netherlands and Portugal, is far better than making criminals out of addicts. And it keeps your belongings much safer as well, as there is less crime to support the high costs, since they won't be high. And with proper treatment, neither will the former addicts.
The drug takes away your ability to choose.
Nothing takes away one's ability to choose one's actions. If that were true, then "the substance changed my behavior" would be a valid legal defense (not saying it isn't attempted, but it's not generally valid, as in, "okay, you're also charged with public intoxication" etc).
Clearly prohibition and the war on drugs is not an effective solution, but neither is going to the opposite end of the spectrum with complete legalization.
Think about applying this logic to any other liberty; you are effectively saying: "Clearly 'prohibition X' is not an effective solution, but neither is going back to the state of liberty we had before." I'm not sure, if you think this through fully, you want to be arguing it in this manner; most people would choose liberty.
"Clearly the TSA groping policy is not an effective solution, but neither is going to the opposite end of the spectrum with a complete hands-off-the-crotch policy" is another way of stating the logical issue with your statement.
Yes, but he was, irrefutably, charged because of it. If Clementi hadn't taken his own life, the most likely outcome would have been nothing whatsoever.
I was thinking similar thoughts, leading to: I wonder how many students spy on their roommates in this manner, uncaught?
...and unfortunately I had one more thing to say, and Slashdot doesn't allow editing posts. Today I read (on goldprice.org, you can too) commentary that stated that central bankers have "repossessed an entire country, now that takes balls." This is what I was referring to when I referenced the Greek police taking out warrants for international bankers' arrests.
Slashdot Mirror
Again, more applicable in a better job environment, but I am with you.
WHAT? The IT unemployment rate is right around 1%.
Facebook reminds me of many old sayings, like "don't walk near the lava", or "stay away from the gators", or "here there be dragons". Best bet is to avoid it.
"Good news, everybody!" ("Hi, everybody!" huh)
that's a post that pushed buttons!
It got a smile, so more than a golf clap, but less than a LOL etc. Note that I am serious in providing comedy feedback here; you got the twist right -- it should happen as close to the end of the sentence as possible. (My favorite example: "Great minds think a lot", because the twist isn't the last word -- it's the last syllable.)
Thanks for the errata; I was going to chime in. :) I do want to remark on your signature, though: Carl Sagan seems like a sufficiently-vested authority, so I believe the quote from him that you state. :)
And, I just have to say I love the fortune, as it self-applies: "If you mess with a thing long enough, it'll break. -- Schmidt"
Thank you. Add one more dislike.
"Gulp." (That's me drinking the nano-SIMs out of that coconut. Now, I'm left with two empty 'alves, to bang together of course.)
I've seen the solution described as succinctly as possible in someone's signature: "Vote gridlock."
Therefore my "societal" value is close to zero; regardless of the purchasing power I have, my willingness to "consume" is close to zero.
US Government $513,308
That's a little ... freakish. My tax dollars hard at work!
Thanks Paul! I just bought the book "The Pleasure Trap". I'm in the middle of "The Diamond Cutter" (which I highly recommend to you!) so it will be a bit before I start it, but I was intrigued by the Amazon write-up and comments. "The Diamond Cutter" is about a Buddhist-trained man entering the world of diamonds, and the lessons learned through applying Buddhist practices to business. It's really neat.
In fact, one that I've already started applying: when I get upset at someone's behavior, put myself in their shoes and try to understand their world. Someone cuts me off in traffic: "Perhaps their child was bleeding in the back seat and they were rushing to the hospital." (A bit grim...), or "They might be tired/distracted/angry at their spouse -- and I should hang back and let them overtake, because whether it's malice or incompetence, if they hit me it would be bad." I've found that this mindset works wonders, not only in reducing my anxiety in situations, but also by increasing my empathy towards the other party -- which makes my communication with them better formed, and better received. Anyway, I'm around halfway through it, and am enjoying it.
I like your take on the prohibition laws as being artificial scarcity.
The horror of them, though -- consider the amount of money our citizens have spent on inferior medical treatments, which have negative side-effects up to and including death, when if we had not passed unconstitutional laws and enforced them as if they were constitutional (i.e., that is conspiracy), we would be more healthy as a society and thus would be better able to out-compete other countries. ("More healthy" is deliberately ambiguous; we'd be more healthy in many ways: reduced cancers; reduced prison population; reduced government expenses at all levels in pursuing making objects and their consumption and sale illegal; increased respect for the rest of the laws; reduced traffic accidents/injuries/fatalities (when everything is available there is less binge activity, like in southern Europe; and also studies show high drivers are better than drunk); reduced crime as prices would be lower without enforced artificial scarcity; reduced expenses on the producers' part, because they no longer need to hide their operations; and probably many more, but that's a good start -- and we can never go back and redo it, but we can make the change now to stop it -- support Ron Paul, like Obi Wan, he's our only hope.)
Rat Park was interesting. One could even argue that our prohibition laws create a sort of inverse Rat Park -- the kind of environment in which the organism prefers to continue dosing itself, knowing the future is grim. So add to the horror, the enjoyment of millions (billions worldwide, thanks to our influence on other countries' sovereign laws, our assassinations, etc) at have a future to think about and look forward to.
In reviewing our earlier threads I noticed the practice of Native Americans[1] putting a mistake in everything they produced, so I have followed suit. :)
I also saw our talk about the gold under the WTC. More recently, I've come to view the vampire squid and other 1%ers as similar to the aliens in "Cowboys and Aliens" -- the way that the gold was just sucked off the table, burning through the roof on its way to the aliens' ship, forever disappearing from our economy. And damaging real estate in the process.
And I just watched The Secret Powers of Time -- thank you! I will watch more of those, it was very well done.
[1] -- I had originally written "American Indians", then changed it. Then I had the thought, from the mind of an angry bigot parent, "Dammit my kids don't play 'Cowboys and Native Americans'!!!" I really liked that thought, actually, because it could be a good response (apart from the first word, perhaps) to someone being "too politically correct." Regardless of whether they were discussing Indians of any form. So that's pretty cool, to learn something from correcting a "typo." Cheers!
"Clancy! Use the remote!"
Hi Paul, just wanted to let you know that this was the post that triggered me to Friend you (we've had cordial discussions in the past). I really like your idea of getting everyone off the planet, especially the exponential build part of it -- because some of those built resources could be sent down the gravity well, helping repair any necessary infrastructure more cheaply and thus speeding up the process of emigration.
The reason that I am telling you that I Friended you is because Slashdot does not let me know when (and why) a new Friend arrives. And, every time I make that type of post, I am modded Redundant or Off-Topic. So -- is there perhaps a setting that I am just missing which does alert us as to the who, when, and why, and is that why I was modded this way for being, as I see it, courteous and Informative?[1]
[1] --Informative to the other user, at least -- and, arguably, to a larger subset of the readers as well, who know us in common.
Sibling said Bitcoins; I add that such a "secure cash monitoring system" would surely watch for people who have a propensity for purchasing gold coins over time -- and then investigate them more thoroughly for illegal activity.
Of course, there could be many layers; still, when "follow the money" is brain-dead simple, those types of "security through obscurity" schemes will fail.
Nobody expects the oblig-- I'll come in again.
vagina field stuck to tabletop
Yes, that's what I saw. Now I'm at work designing it. (What was that about getting laid?)
There is nothing that could be talked about that would cause physical harm to others.
I think they're more concerned about "physical harm to the conspirators."
Stop trolling.
You are the one who is trolling, by repeating lies. Many people have had heroin or heroin-derived substances administered to them medically and none have developed a "powerful addiction which sacrifices everything else for one more taste." As parent pointed out, there are many more substances that are much more addictive than opiates.
I am sorry someone you cared about was hurt by them, but outlawing substances provably does more harm than good. Proper treatment, like they have in the Netherlands and Portugal, is far better than making criminals out of addicts. And it keeps your belongings much safer as well, as there is less crime to support the high costs, since they won't be high. And with proper treatment, neither will the former addicts.
The drug takes away your ability to choose.
Nothing takes away one's ability to choose one's actions. If that were true, then "the substance changed my behavior" would be a valid legal defense (not saying it isn't attempted, but it's not generally valid, as in, "okay, you're also charged with public intoxication" etc).
Clearly prohibition and the war on drugs is not an effective solution, but neither is going to the opposite end of the spectrum with complete legalization.
Think about applying this logic to any other liberty; you are effectively saying: "Clearly 'prohibition X' is not an effective solution, but neither is going back to the state of liberty we had before." I'm not sure, if you think this through fully, you want to be arguing it in this manner; most people would choose liberty.
"Clearly the TSA groping policy is not an effective solution, but neither is going to the opposite end of the spectrum with a complete hands-off-the-crotch policy" is another way of stating the logical issue with your statement.
Not sure whether Welsh are late, but being from Wight helps to make you early:
There once was a man from Wight
Who could travel much faster than light
He set off one day
In a relative way
And returned home the previous night.
My favorite non-licentious limerick!
Ravi wrote, "Dude I hate poor people."
Caste system is still alive and well, I see.
Yes, but he was, irrefutably, charged because of it. If Clementi hadn't taken his own life, the most likely outcome would have been nothing whatsoever.
I was thinking similar thoughts, leading to: I wonder how many students spy on their roommates in this manner, uncaught?
As long as the choice is groping or irradiation, they are on my no-fly list.
Orphaned work? See "Song of the South". Zippity-do-dah.
...and unfortunately I had one more thing to say, and Slashdot doesn't allow editing posts. Today I read (on goldprice.org, you can too) commentary that stated that central bankers have "repossessed an entire country, now that takes balls." This is what I was referring to when I referenced the Greek police taking out warrants for international bankers' arrests.