This is a logical extension of the sort of the carefully cultivated isolation you encounter on a university campus. Why subject your employees to the outer-world that is - let's face it - such a nuisance and an eye-sore. Who wants to deal with the unpleasantness of ghetto-fabulous Oakland or South San Francisco? Fuck that. Reality is for suckers.
To be fair, Silicon Valley merely compounds a problem that's been in the Bay Area for a while now - namely the ghetto-ization and nimby-ism that's been going on for decades now. The left-wing excesses begun in the sixties and seventies are now coming home to roost, though a lot of ex-hippies get to watch the drama unfold from the comfort of their homes in the Berkeley hills. Why yes I do bitter much.
A looming danger is that everyone in these institutions becomes so zealous in the execution of their appointed duties that they lose all sense of humor, humanity, and irony. In the US I see this sort of humorless automaton behavior all the time: in cops, tsa agents, border patrol - basically from people in most positions of state authority. When you constantly subdue your humanity, you give yourself over to authoritarian tendencies, so expect all sorts of abuses to follow.
At the risk of sounding histrionic: the real threat isn't that machines will take over humanity, but rather humans will become machines.
Is that they live in a world so far removed from our own - in which civil rights, due process and conflicts of interest are active concerns - to such an extent that doing something like this "ain't no thang". Disturbing.
Frankly, they could have at least pretended to give a shit.
Seems to me that much of Africa has amazing potential, but most of its countries are caught in a vicious cycle of incompetent, patrimonial and ruthless leaders with strong ethnic ties, an endless stream of warlords and strongmen propped up by commodities and foreign aid. Indeed, throwing wealth at the problem seems to do far more harm, like water on an oil fire. Nothing good can take root in such wretched soil. It's just so... fucking depressing.
Oh I know, lord I know - my question was more rhetorical than realistic. It's just so sad to see an entire country succumb to a cancer like Mugabe. Aside from the obvious parties, who else is to blame for the current situation? I mean, how did it come to this? And for so long?
Human history is a long line of relative misery, punctuated by brief epochs of absolute misery.
Why the hell is anyone who can still use a computer - or better yet, *own* a computer - still in Zimbabwe? You'd think the strategy for anyone with some means would be: Leave now. Come back when that old stupid fuck is dead.
Look, I never thought he would be the messiah to bring balance to the force; but neither did I think that he would be turn out to be the head of such a heavy-handed and intrusive governmental apparatus. I had the simple hope that he would backpedal much of the dangerous expansion of federal powers that started in the Bush years, especially homeland, tsa and patriot act. But none of that shit. It certainly didn't get any better, maybe even got a little worse.
The betrayal doesn't only refer to that of the Obama administration, it is rather the abandonment by what passes for the left in this country of liberal principles, lines you just don't cross have been crossed. For the 'left' as much as the 'right', it's not about any sort of enlightened principles, it's only about winning winning winning. They're competing strains of the same virus. If you go to moveon.org you won't find a peep about the nsa surveillance, which is an implict acknowledgment that they're an appendage of the administration. It's simply jaw-dropping. I feel like I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and got egg noodles and ketchup.
Also, perhaps most urgently, you need to see 'The Big Lebowski'. By 3 o'clock.
1 - Turn all citizens into criminals.
2 - Be the one in charge to decide which citizens to prosecute.
3 - Make your position inheritable.
4 - Construct large pyramidal tombs in the desert to be remembered forever.
Slashdot Mirror
"I see nussink! I vuss not hier! I dit not efen get ahp diss morning!"
This is a logical extension of the sort of the carefully cultivated isolation you encounter on a university campus. Why subject your employees to the outer-world that is - let's face it - such a nuisance and an eye-sore. Who wants to deal with the unpleasantness of ghetto-fabulous Oakland or South San Francisco? Fuck that. Reality is for suckers.
To be fair, Silicon Valley merely compounds a problem that's been in the Bay Area for a while now - namely the ghetto-ization and nimby-ism that's been going on for decades now. The left-wing excesses begun in the sixties and seventies are now coming home to roost, though a lot of ex-hippies get to watch the drama unfold from the comfort of their homes in the Berkeley hills. Why yes I do bitter much.
Of course by "certain" they mean "obscene".
A looming danger is that everyone in these institutions becomes so zealous in the execution of their appointed duties that they lose all sense of humor, humanity, and irony. In the US I see this sort of humorless automaton behavior all the time: in cops, tsa agents, border patrol - basically from people in most positions of state authority. When you constantly subdue your humanity, you give yourself over to authoritarian tendencies, so expect all sorts of abuses to follow.
At the risk of sounding histrionic: the real threat isn't that machines will take over humanity, but rather humans will become machines.
What about a device for storing my tater tots?
How about it science?
Is that they live in a world so far removed from our own - in which civil rights, due process and conflicts of interest are active concerns - to such an extent that doing something like this "ain't no thang". Disturbing.
Frankly, they could have at least pretended to give a shit.
In some kangaroo court?
Pope: Yes, one! Now will you please tell me what in God's name possessed you to paint this with three Christs in it?
Michaelangelo: It works, mate!
Pope: It does not work!
Michaelangelo: It does, it looks great! The fat one balances the two skinny ones!
Fuck that.
Triple down.
Ron Swanson said it best: "Never half-ass two things:. Whole-ass one thing."
Because you shoot people in the arm.
But it's not an area that I'll be putting money into.
So they can shoot themselves in the foot twice.
Fitzgerald: The rich are different than you and me.
Hemingway: Yes, they have more money.
Death metal to America!
\m/ (-_-) \m/
What does that even mean?
Death metal to America!
Out of curiosity, do you ever catch yourself thinking "It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you."?
Seems to me that much of Africa has amazing potential, but most of its countries are caught in a vicious cycle of incompetent, patrimonial and ruthless leaders with strong ethnic ties, an endless stream of warlords and strongmen propped up by commodities and foreign aid. Indeed, throwing wealth at the problem seems to do far more harm, like water on an oil fire. Nothing good can take root in such wretched soil. It's just so... fucking depressing.
Oh I know, lord I know - my question was more rhetorical than realistic. It's just so sad to see an entire country succumb to a cancer like Mugabe. Aside from the obvious parties, who else is to blame for the current situation? I mean, how did it come to this? And for so long?
Human history is a long line of relative misery, punctuated by brief epochs of absolute misery.
Why the hell is anyone who can still use a computer - or better yet, *own* a computer - still in Zimbabwe? You'd think the strategy for anyone with some means would be: Leave now. Come back when that old stupid fuck is dead.
Need proof? NSA, NRA, NEA and the... uh.. NBA.
Snoopers and snipers, flunkers and dunkers!
Phooey! Now get off my lawn!
"I'd buy that for a doller!"
Oh yeah, found it: http://ilarge.listal.com/image/92722/936full-star-blazers-photo.jpg
It's too bad you didn't do some research. There was no reason to believe that Obama would be any better, unless you're a racist.
empiracist.
Look, I never thought he would be the messiah to bring balance to the force; but neither did I think that he would be turn out to be the head of such a heavy-handed and intrusive governmental apparatus. I had the simple hope that he would backpedal much of the dangerous expansion of federal powers that started in the Bush years, especially homeland, tsa and patriot act. But none of that shit. It certainly didn't get any better, maybe even got a little worse.
The betrayal doesn't only refer to that of the Obama administration, it is rather the abandonment by what passes for the left in this country of liberal principles, lines you just don't cross have been crossed. For the 'left' as much as the 'right', it's not about any sort of enlightened principles, it's only about winning winning winning. They're competing strains of the same virus. If you go to moveon.org you won't find a peep about the nsa surveillance, which is an implict acknowledgment that they're an appendage of the administration. It's simply jaw-dropping. I feel like I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and got egg noodles and ketchup.
Also, perhaps most urgently, you need to see 'The Big Lebowski'. By 3 o'clock.
We are all criminals.
1 - Turn all citizens into criminals. 2 - Be the one in charge to decide which citizens to prosecute. 3 - Make your position inheritable. 4 - Construct large pyramidal tombs in the desert to be remembered forever.
5 - PROPHET!
Because obviously I'm not a golfer.