If you want to bet for entertainment, hit the blackjack tables after you learn the rules of how you play. Blackjack is a better deal because the entertainment lasts longer for the same cost, on average.
Blackjack is boring, and when you win only double your stake. The Lottery requires as little as a few dollars, takes no effort, and gives you the high of dreaming about being a multimillionaire. I only buy lottery tickets when it gets huge, the idea of winning tens of millions of dollars is worth the minimal cost. And I don't have to hang out at a casino with a bunch of deadbeats.
How many criminals are smart enough to think long term like this? Not many I'm afraid...
How do you know? The smart ones never get caught, and the really smart one's victims don't even know they've been done.
Or did you think every single offence ever has been reported in the news?
Next time you hear about the biggest drug best ever in the news, pay attention to the street price. We've had busts of hundreds of kgs of Coke or Ecstasy and the street price doesn't change. That is an indicator of how much stuff is coming through, and how many people must be getting away with it. I'm sure the same is happening in Financial Services and other industries.
When you're committing a crime, don't screw your partner who can expose you.
Crime 101 I suppose...
I refer you to the opening heist of The Dark Knight,
You know that's a movie right? Most of the time, gang members get away with it, share the loot and live happily ever after. It just you never hear about these stories because you don't even know it's happened.
I'd rather have 7 million and know that the person who knows WHY I have 7 million also has 7 million and is happy, than to have 14 million and look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.
As would most people. That scenario when the friend stabs you in the back in the name of greed might happen in the movies a lot, but it not a likely outcome in the real world. Besides, what better way to have fun with $7million than having your best bud, also with $7mil along for the ride?
So when this trusted friend claims the $14m and then decides to keep it all, what do you do then?
Well by definition he isn't a trusted friend. You can only begin if the trusted friend is actually a trusted friend.
If it turns out you have poor judgement in choosing friends, then threats of violence can sometimes help. Either way you go in a little more prepared than this guy did.
Polynesian navigation is reasonably well understood, since they traversed the Pacific from East Asia to Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Easter Island, New Zealand etc thousands of kilometres, it's not too much of a stretch to expect someone made the last step to the Americas. The only catch is the timing since these migrations are believed to have happened in the preceding thousand years, where native American cultures were already fully entrenched and developed by then.
The other catch is that Polynesians tend to be tall, big and muscular, whereas your average American native was quite small and wirey (relatively). This evolutionary change would've taken many generations to achieve, so the time required to support this idea simply not there.
Clinical genome sequencing is going to be one of the biggest revolutions in the history of medicine - right up there with aseptic surgery and antibiotics.
Even though I sort of knew this, it wasn't until you wrote it down that it hit me. As much as it sounds like a bad time travel movie script, I think our ancestors will look back on this as a golden age. Man on the moon, the PC/Internet, Genome/DNA, AI etc. Epoch defining firsts for technology that will be remembered for Millenia
No. People love to hate Facebook but they don't really want to leave. So unless a competitor offers a really superior product or Facebook messes things up badly, people will stay..
I disagree. I know a lot of people who don't like the privacy/advertising aspect of FB but have no choice (certainly not the abomination that is G+). If a startup with sufficient marketing budget could push this point, I don't think it would take much for a mass shift.
Look at IM. The shifts between various IM providers hasn't occurred because newer products came out with superior features. Generally the incumbent slowly killed the user experience with bloat and crap, so people jumped ship to another IM with exactly the same features minus the shit.
you only cite the US as low when you compare us against European states and as the link pointed out
Uh yeah, because the topic of the thread is comparing the US with Australia, not Zimbabwe
You're a lightweight, stick to arguing with the other children because you are clearly out of your depth...
You think they have driven 2 million miles on a "few square miles" of streets?
Yes. Because up until a few months ago ALL testing was done on private test tracks. Most of the 2 million miles was not on public streets.
They could have stopped that a long time ago, they have gotten permits to drive them in several public places, and all the scanning and mapping in the world does nothing for dealing with human drivers around them.
The vast majority of the small amount miles done on public roads have all be done in Mountain View, on sunny days, only under certain conditions (ie no railway crossings, no roundabouts, no unsealed roads etc etc with operators who take over when the AI freaks out. The latest incarnation of Google robot car, ie the one designed for public street testing, is speed limited to 25mph.
ie All testing so far has been under controlled circumstances.
What is so sad is that this is supposed to be a tech web site, and what we have is a bunch of people afraid of technology.
As a Tech person I consider it my job to sort the real data from the marketing material. The really sad part is that not all of us so-called techies seem able to demonstrate similar skills.
Mobile is a little different. I change mobile devices every year, so having accounts which sync everything provides benefits to me as a user.
On my desktop and laptop, I keep all my data backed up on an external drive, and keep my machines for about 5 years. When I replace machine, I start fresh and can still access my data. An account serves no purpose in this scenario other than to annoy me.
I use my apps on my phone maybe a few minutes a day, I use my desktop/laptop at least 10 hours/day. The intrusive nature of accounts I can live with as a trade-off on mobile, but not for my desktop.
Because nearly everybody was already on Facebook and Facebook gave them no reason to move that they cared about..
Facebook hate was around by the time G+ was released. Had they simply released an Ad-free, private clone of FB it would taken the world by storm. Instead they thought they knew better and now have yet another failed product to add to a very long list.
Same here. I hated FB, so jumped onto G+ hoping it would FB but better. Unfortunately it sucked arse, because you could never control who you were communicating with. Apparently you could manage this but I never figured out how, the interface was just a huge mess. I stuck with FB until finally giving that the flick too. Surely if someone just made a FB clone without the ads and privacy issues it would be an instant hit?
Probably also worth noting that I'm yet to hear of any test done in anything other than perfect weather. And I've since found out that Google has a policy of not testing on rail crossings or roundabouts. Hard to see how that qualifies as "uncontrolled".
A few square miles of known streets that have been rigourously scanned and mapped. That is not the same as what the rest of us experience. It is still illegal to operate them in an uncontrolled manner on a public road, so I can't see how a true "uncontrolled" test is possible.
Unlikely? The point is that they CANNOT be compared.
"The infant mortality rate correlates very strongly with, and is among the best predictors of, state failure"
Your link, your citation. Make up your mind.
And then they realize just how inconveniently big it is if you want to stay in touch or in the loop. So now they can't put their phone in a convenient location
I've had the 5.7"+ Notes (Note 2, 3 and 4) for a few years now, and never had a problem putting it in my pocket. "Too big" seemed to be an excuse used by Applebots when Apple only offered a 4" device.
My wife has traditionally used small phones and always kept them in her bag, so when she upgraded to a Note (5.8") it was no change in behaviour.
The Apple watch is a gimmick, and history will confirm this.
The irony is that in 2 million miles of driving in a controlled environment which is unlike a real road, Google's self-driving cars have yet to have this problem.
Name something fun that doesn't pollute the planet in one way or another?
Um, pretty much everything except a car?
If you want to get petty you could argue that going for a walk increase pollution since you breathe more, and that's more CO2, but if we're being serious, cars about the worst thing individuals can do to contribute to pollution. I have green power in my house, I carbon offset flights, but when me and billions of other people drive, it is the single biggest contributor to pollution there is.
Actually soon they will be ten time safer and better at driving than any human and they will be wizzing past you
Yeah, but where's the fun in that?
I enjoy the adrenaline rush of firing up the fun performance cars I've had over the years, and hitting the road.
I feel sad for those folks that see a car as nothing more than rote transportation from A to B.
I feel sorry for those folks who think cars are the pinnacle of fun on the road. I've also had a string of performance cars, but they are all rather pedestrian compared to a sports bike. A car is nothing more than rote transportation from A to B for me, because no car can compete with my bike for fun.
Actually soon they will be ten time safer and better at driving than any human and they will be wizzing past you
Impossible. In order to go fast in traffic you need to take risks. These risks will be unacceptable to AI, so the only possible result is a safer AND slower journey. I'm fine with that if I just need a ride home from the pub, but when I'm going to work, no machine can compete with the types of risks I subject myself to every day.
Funny thing was, when I first heard his name, I thought is was a woman. Somewhere in my head I'd merged Tatum O'Neal with Stockard Channing to create a new identity.
Slashdot Mirror
If you want to bet for entertainment, hit the blackjack tables after you learn the rules of how you play. Blackjack is a better deal because the entertainment lasts longer for the same cost, on average.
Blackjack is boring, and when you win only double your stake. The Lottery requires as little as a few dollars, takes no effort, and gives you the high of dreaming about being a multimillionaire. I only buy lottery tickets when it gets huge, the idea of winning tens of millions of dollars is worth the minimal cost. And I don't have to hang out at a casino with a bunch of deadbeats.
How many criminals are smart enough to think long term like this? Not many I'm afraid...
How do you know? The smart ones never get caught, and the really smart one's victims don't even know they've been done.
Or did you think every single offence ever has been reported in the news?
Next time you hear about the biggest drug best ever in the news, pay attention to the street price. We've had busts of hundreds of kgs of Coke or Ecstasy and the street price doesn't change. That is an indicator of how much stuff is coming through, and how many people must be getting away with it. I'm sure the same is happening in Financial Services and other industries.
When you're committing a crime, don't screw your partner who can expose you.
Crime 101 I suppose...
I refer you to the opening heist of The Dark Knight,
You know that's a movie right? Most of the time, gang members get away with it, share the loot and live happily ever after. It just you never hear about these stories because you don't even know it's happened.
I'd rather have 7 million and know that the person who knows WHY I have 7 million also has 7 million and is happy, than to have 14 million and look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.
As would most people. That scenario when the friend stabs you in the back in the name of greed might happen in the movies a lot, but it not a likely outcome in the real world. Besides, what better way to have fun with $7million than having your best bud, also with $7mil along for the ride?
So when this trusted friend claims the $14m and then decides to keep it all, what do you do then?
Well by definition he isn't a trusted friend. You can only begin if the trusted friend is actually a trusted friend.
If it turns out you have poor judgement in choosing friends, then threats of violence can sometimes help. Either way you go in a little more prepared than this guy did.
We must move in different circles.
Even easier to defraud, I'll just send round some guys to steal it while you're at work.
Polynesian navigation is reasonably well understood, since they traversed the Pacific from East Asia to Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Easter Island, New Zealand etc thousands of kilometres, it's not too much of a stretch to expect someone made the last step to the Americas. The only catch is the timing since these migrations are believed to have happened in the preceding thousand years, where native American cultures were already fully entrenched and developed by then.
The other catch is that Polynesians tend to be tall, big and muscular, whereas your average American native was quite small and wirey (relatively). This evolutionary change would've taken many generations to achieve, so the time required to support this idea simply not there.
Clinical genome sequencing is going to be one of the biggest revolutions in the history of medicine - right up there with aseptic surgery and antibiotics.
Even though I sort of knew this, it wasn't until you wrote it down that it hit me. As much as it sounds like a bad time travel movie script, I think our ancestors will look back on this as a golden age. Man on the moon, the PC/Internet, Genome/DNA, AI etc. Epoch defining firsts for technology that will be remembered for Millenia
No. People love to hate Facebook but they don't really want to leave. So unless a competitor offers a really superior product or Facebook messes things up badly, people will stay..
I disagree. I know a lot of people who don't like the privacy/advertising aspect of FB but have no choice (certainly not the abomination that is G+). If a startup with sufficient marketing budget could push this point, I don't think it would take much for a mass shift.
Look at IM. The shifts between various IM providers hasn't occurred because newer products came out with superior features. Generally the incumbent slowly killed the user experience with bloat and crap, so people jumped ship to another IM with exactly the same features minus the shit.
you only cite the US as low when you compare us against European states and as the link pointed out
Uh yeah, because the topic of the thread is comparing the US with Australia, not Zimbabwe
You're a lightweight, stick to arguing with the other children because you are clearly out of your depth...
You think they have driven 2 million miles on a "few square miles" of streets?
Yes. Because up until a few months ago ALL testing was done on private test tracks. Most of the 2 million miles was not on public streets.
They could have stopped that a long time ago, they have gotten permits to drive them in several public places, and all the scanning and mapping in the world does nothing for dealing with human drivers around them.
The vast majority of the small amount miles done on public roads have all be done in Mountain View, on sunny days, only under certain conditions (ie no railway crossings, no roundabouts, no unsealed roads etc etc with operators who take over when the AI freaks out. The latest incarnation of Google robot car, ie the one designed for public street testing, is speed limited to 25mph.
ie All testing so far has been under controlled circumstances.
What is so sad is that this is supposed to be a tech web site, and what we have is a bunch of people afraid of technology.
As a Tech person I consider it my job to sort the real data from the marketing material. The really sad part is that not all of us so-called techies seem able to demonstrate similar skills.
Mobile is a little different. I change mobile devices every year, so having accounts which sync everything provides benefits to me as a user.
On my desktop and laptop, I keep all my data backed up on an external drive, and keep my machines for about 5 years. When I replace machine, I start fresh and can still access my data. An account serves no purpose in this scenario other than to annoy me.
I use my apps on my phone maybe a few minutes a day, I use my desktop/laptop at least 10 hours/day. The intrusive nature of accounts I can live with as a trade-off on mobile, but not for my desktop.
Because nearly everybody was already on Facebook and Facebook gave them no reason to move that they cared about. .
Facebook hate was around by the time G+ was released. Had they simply released an Ad-free, private clone of FB it would taken the world by storm. Instead they thought they knew better and now have yet another failed product to add to a very long list.
Same here. I hated FB, so jumped onto G+ hoping it would FB but better. Unfortunately it sucked arse, because you could never control who you were communicating with. Apparently you could manage this but I never figured out how, the interface was just a huge mess. I stuck with FB until finally giving that the flick too. Surely if someone just made a FB clone without the ads and privacy issues it would be an instant hit?
Probably also worth noting that I'm yet to hear of any test done in anything other than perfect weather. And I've since found out that Google has a policy of not testing on rail crossings or roundabouts. Hard to see how that qualifies as "uncontrolled".
A few square miles of known streets that have been rigourously scanned and mapped. That is not the same as what the rest of us experience. It is still illegal to operate them in an uncontrolled manner on a public road, so I can't see how a true "uncontrolled" test is possible.
Unlikely? The point is that they CANNOT be compared.
"The infant mortality rate correlates very strongly with, and is among the best predictors of, state failure" Your link, your citation. Make up your mind.
And then they realize just how inconveniently big it is if you want to stay in touch or in the loop. So now they can't put their phone in a convenient location
I've had the 5.7"+ Notes (Note 2, 3 and 4) for a few years now, and never had a problem putting it in my pocket. "Too big" seemed to be an excuse used by Applebots when Apple only offered a 4" device.
My wife has traditionally used small phones and always kept them in her bag, so when she upgraded to a Note (5.8") it was no change in behaviour.
The Apple watch is a gimmick, and history will confirm this.
The irony is that in 2 million miles of driving in a controlled environment which is unlike a real road, Google's self-driving cars have yet to have this problem.
FTFY
Name something fun that doesn't pollute the planet in one way or another?
Um, pretty much everything except a car?
If you want to get petty you could argue that going for a walk increase pollution since you breathe more, and that's more CO2, but if we're being serious, cars about the worst thing individuals can do to contribute to pollution. I have green power in my house, I carbon offset flights, but when me and billions of other people drive, it is the single biggest contributor to pollution there is.
Yeah, but where's the fun in that?
I enjoy the adrenaline rush of firing up the fun performance cars I've had over the years, and hitting the road.
I feel sad for those folks that see a car as nothing more than rote transportation from A to B.
I feel sorry for those folks who think cars are the pinnacle of fun on the road. I've also had a string of performance cars, but they are all rather pedestrian compared to a sports bike. A car is nothing more than rote transportation from A to B for me, because no car can compete with my bike for fun.
Actually soon they will be ten time safer and better at driving than any human and they will be wizzing past you
Impossible. In order to go fast in traffic you need to take risks. These risks will be unacceptable to AI, so the only possible result is a safer AND slower journey. I'm fine with that if I just need a ride home from the pub, but when I'm going to work, no machine can compete with the types of risks I subject myself to every day.
The average lifetime productivity of an American is about $2 million. Why should we spend 5000 lifetimes worth of productivity to go to the moon?
Well if we can spend 500,000 lifetimes worth of productivity creating the biggest fuckup in the Middle East then why not?
Funny thing was, when I first heard his name, I thought is was a woman. Somewhere in my head I'd merged Tatum O'Neal with Stockard Channing to create a new identity.