I have no idea whether any of the posters on Slashdot are female, or if they are white or black or Asian. How can I discriminate when I don't have anything at all to go upon?
Exactly! For the past few days, Katz has been acting like folks who read and write here are all one color & one sex. Not only is that not true, the internet allows us to get beyond race and gender in ways humanity has never before done. Take my friend Lizard, for example. I have never seen him, I've only talked with him once, but I respect him because of his words, since I tend to agree with a lot (not all) of them, and I find him funny. That's the beauty of the internet, your words -- and NOT your melanin-content or your family's name or your bank account size or any other bullcrap -- matter. Thoughts, not colors. Someone once had a dream about this kind of a situation, and now it's a reality. Interesting to see who likes and dislikes this reality...
I hate to hurl accusations of racism back and forth, so I'll just say this: Mr. Katz might want to look in the mirror before posting speculative (and false) stuff like this about race or gender and the internet (which is a GOOD thing). There's a reason that many folks like me eschew the politically-correct media these days, and Mr. Katz has just provided an object lesson in why. JMR (Speaking only for myself, here.)
Hi, Zooko, sadly it isn't yet, but since my customers and I all like these guys a lot I think it's bound to happen soon (FC00? -- hey, ya going this year?). It's strange, I regularly offer ZKS (and Slashdot) folks a chance to play around with a bit of e-gold, and nobody takes me up on it! This, despite the cool new Real Gold Lotto that recently popped up. (I've got nothing to do with them, I know nothing, I see nothing...) Take advantage of me, everybody, create an account and I'll click you some gold!
Anyway, I get the very strong feeling of another digital cash developing (and if it does, I'd hope for G&SR to make a market between it and e-gold and/or DigiGold). I want to see a thousand flowers bloom in this area, as I'm sure many folks do. Of course, I can't predict others' actions, so it's just a feeling, but it should be an interesting conference in Anguilla this time, and I can't wait! JMR
From what I've heard, they implement a limit on e-mails per day per user which would not be noticed by an ordinary user but would pretty much prevent spam. I'm not certain how they'd deal with threats and hoaxes.
I like the company, they've hired some very smart and very nice people, but I wish they'd be more forward-thinking regarding efficient payment options.:^) Seriously, we tried HARD for a while to use a credit card to buy a set of 'nyms -- without success -- for a LONG time. There are other payment options that they should consider, among them e-gold. (Go ahead, moderate me down, this is a blatantly self-interested comment but I needed to say it.) JMR
Methinks it'll be time soon for a mutual fund that invests exclusively in Linux companies and does so across the board.
While it's easy to agree with this statement given short-range hindsight to recent events, I'd think some of you would be old enough -- like me -- to recall wizened old stockbrokers telling you to "look for a low P/E ratio & good, sound earnings fundamentals." That sounds anachronistic in this day of e-anything-&-everything-must-be-great, but that's due to emotion and not bottom-line logic, IMO. Remember, we cannot be certain when or if we will achieve sustained profitability is what they said [emphasis mine, naturally].
When companies that have never seen anything but a sea of red ink (I'm thinking Amazon now, not Red Hat, but this applies to both and many others) get overhyped, little-guy investors will get nailed in the end, IMO. In the meantime, I've seen a number of fundamentally sound ideas go begging for VC money (in part this is my failing, I wish I were better at hype than I am) with scant/no media attention and hence no investor attention, despite being in the black & having a good, specific business plan and fun, unique products.
Oh well. I predict a lot of "evolution" in the market this year, with possibly even a few extinctions (not thinking about Amazon OR Red Hat now, and I won't say who I AM thinking of). Disclaimer: I am not licensed to give investment advice (and not only that, many people think I'm an idiot).:) JMR
That word, more than anything, has done wonders to clean up many folks' language in an enjoyable way (I include mine). Indeed, it's puzzling that conservatives such as self-appointed moralist and former "drug czar" Willaim Bennett object to the show, since every damn one of them seems to be a little morality play in some way or another, IMO.
Begin off-topic rant: (Ok, I'll stop posting about the Simpsons now, but not before I say/. should have featured: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/13/dru gs/index.html and http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/14/pay ola/index.html yesterday and today. End off-topic rant. JMR
Was when Homer opens the fridge and pulls out a can of Duff (great name, BTW) which was pre-shaken in a paint-shaker by Bart. A thermonuclear explosion, complete with mushroom-shaped cloud, results. Homer had asked for it, Gary Hart style, and had done something beforehand to Bart (which escapes me at the moment, too much Duff while watching, I guess). JMR
First let me say that I'm not a programmer (I'm a mouth) and that the following could easily be interpreted as totally self-interested, and to top it off they aren't even Linux-specific. Moderate me down, see if I care.:)
The guys at http://www.cryptix.org/ are my favorites. Cryptix(tm) is an international volunteer effort to produce robust, open-source cryptographic software libraries. Cryptix products are free, both for commercial and non-commercial use and are being used by developers all over the world. Development is currently focused on Java. Without them, the cool stuff that's happening at: http://www.webfunds.org/ Webfunds (some of it indirectly involving my company) would not be possible.
Along some of the same lines, what's going on at: http://www.erights.org/ E involving a secure distributed object platform and scripting language for writing Capability-Based Smart Contracts is also exceptionally cool, and somewhat related is Tyler's http://www.waterken.com/ Waterken (which isn't a charity, but which is very cool IMO). Disclaimer: I like all the principals of these 4 groups as friends, and all 4 groups tend to "get" what I sell, which is e-gold, which currently uses too much closed-source stuff (that may change in the future,/. assistance appreciated). Obligatory Commercial: Anybody on Slashdot who wants to try e-gold today can e-mail me with an account number.
Something to keep in mind is the old adage "follow the money." It's as true in trying to supplant M$ as it is in politics, IMO. Good luck, choose well, and above all have fun. JMR [Speaking only for myself, YMMV, etc. etc.]
(Speaking only for myself, here.) I'd want/. to consider writing in: Dave Barry. I'm serious, we could prevent the "debate" from becoming the usual snooze-fest, and Dave has the advantage of already running anyway. I'd rather hear what Dave Barry asks "W." than what Sam Donaldson asks, and I think most here would concur.
I'm also serious when I say that much "campaign finance reform" is censorship, with a historical record of minimal value (albeit increasing regulatory control) since Watergate. As long as there's disclosure (something those who take money from suspiciously-rich Buddhists don't like talking about) I don't care WHAT a candidate spends on some silly "advance auction of stolen goods."
The people seem to feel the same way (witness Michael Huffington's $30 million or so down the drain). I am aware that others disagree, and they tend to (somehow) trust the news media to be fair and impartial. I can't share that faith. Try running for something (I have) and THEN say that money isn't important to spread your political speech. The answer isn't limits, it's disclosure, along with swift, credible, IMPARTIAL (that's "no more favoring the 2 major parties over other parties") punishment for violators. Another answer is just not to vote, since it only encourages them.
(Again, speaking only for myself, YMMV, moderate me down as flamebait, etc.) JMR
444.00 Palladium 404.50 Platinum (buy either today, at our site, but those aren't our buying prices, they are our selling prices.)
Both (in various mixtures, I'm told) are in the catalytic converters of automobiles. I'm interested in the scientific politics (yep, it's there) of fusion. I think "cold fusion" has an unfortunate moniker, but is interesting because of unexplained results nonetheless. I don't claim to know the answers, but I find the FAITH exhibited by those who do claim to know what's going on unseemly, considering the fact that they can't explain the unexplained results in a satisfactory way (IMO). I'll stop now, I'm in danger of expressing an opinion and I'm out of my league.;^) Moderate me down, now!!! JMR
Hmmm. Interesting idea, but I wonder how one would pay instantly and irrevocably? (Go ahead, moderate me down as a dirty spammer, see if I care!) JMR
PS If anyone wants to create an account, see a spend, and make a payment with e-gold in the next day, I'll oblige. Instant gratification for Slashdot readers.
Here is Dave's article which goes far beyond the gravitational effects... Off-topic rant follows:
I am still mildly annoyed that the Herald took down his take on Miami-style corruption, wherein he suggests that government be turned over to the mob, who are at least efficient at being crooks. Like the comic strip "Shoe," it may have "hit a bit too close to home" for the Herald. JMR
I for one don't trust the shuttle to be in the air in 11 days time.
Don't worry, neither does NASA. They said they'd cut one "EVA" (spacewalk) which would have covered some peeling paint(!) on rails around the telescope, in order to get back in time for Y2K. They're concentrating on replacing the 6 gyroscopes this time, according to the local talking heads on TV.
I saw the launch live last night (I live in Melbourne, FL) and it was lovely. No matter how you feel about the government's space program (I'm ambivalent-to-negative on it, much as I'm a fan of space exploration in general) a night launch from the Cape is a beautiful sight. JMR
There are laws that limit consumers' ability to borrow money for the purpose of gambling. The gambling site and/or the customer (of both the gambling site and the credit card company) didn't obey these laws. Now there's an expensive lawsuit.
The solution MIGHT just be to employ a different online currency for gambling -- perhaps one that eschews debt. I could suggest a currency that never experiences "chargebacks," but that would make this message spam.:^) Besides, it looks like a gambling site may soon finally 'get' what I do, whether or not most "'net journalists" ever do... JMR
www.digigold.net * -- in order for non-governmental entities to be believed, they must back currency with something valuable, just as governments used to do. An interesting experiment is to ask people what backs the US dollar. They may SAY "gold," but all they've got is paper.:) JMR
* while backed with e-gold and exchangeable gram for gram, digigold has nothing to do with e-gold, it's merely an electronic cash way of eliminating spend and storage fees and allowing certain other advantages...More at www.systemics.com
(Go ahead, moderate this down. I'm totally self-interested and I don't care.)
I plan not to set foot in a mall this holiday season. e-gold makes a wonderful and increasingly-useful gift. 100% backed, convertible into snailed checks in various national currencies for the terminally unimaginative. It comes in four flavors (gold, silver, platinum and palladium) and offers a decent privacy policy (we don't sell or give away customer information).
Anyone on Slashdot wanting to see a small demonstration spend can e-mail me, removing the underlined lunchmeat, with an account number or a snail address for more information.
Shareware authors should be especially interested in the micropayment possibility e-gold offers. There are also a number of charitable possibilities, in the spirit of the season. Thanks. JMR
Freedom is found at ZKS -- http://www.zks.net (a very cool company, IMO).
John Gilmore's homepage http://www.toad.com/gnu/index.html has more about SWAN http://www.toad.com/gnu/swan.html which seems like a good idea to me. http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan/ is the main site. Linux FreeS/WAN is an implementation of IPSEC & IKE for Linux.
I personally hope that there's a financial privacy (as well as personal privacy) backlash from all this garbage, for obvious very-selfish reasons. JMR
(The message below was posted to the fight-censorship mailing list. I'll check out ompages.com now, sounds interesting.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nice analysis on Slashdot, Jamie. I'd only add my opinion that just because TRUSTe has demonstrated over and over they're not trustworthy does NOT mean that the executive, legislative, or even judicial branches of the US government have suddenly become more trustworthy. IMO, it's negative-zero vs negative- zero.:(
The problem here is a bad funding-model. Whether it's giant corporations or suspiciously-wealthy Buddhists, if individual privacy is desired you're going to see better results if you use individual funding. The top-rated comment, titled "Change the revenue stream" by Brian Knotts (bknotts@europa.com) says it pretty well, IMO. "Follow the money" is at least as true now as it was in Nixon's day. I agree with Michael that whoever is reading the info@truste.org mail should update that resume, and I'm sorry (though not surprised) to hear RealNetworks' stock (like M$ stock) went up instead of down today.
The advent of instantly-settled bearer payment media should make individual-funding revenue models easier to implement. See http://webfunds.org/download/zip_README.html for more about one bearer payment* method, there are others too. JMR
* My company is (somewhat tangentially) involved with the DigiGold folks, although the Webfunds wallet is open-source and supports any type of payment it can.
I could write a whole Borg episode (and would, if they paid me!). I don't know if there's still time/plot for my episode, though, because TNG is gone and Hugh (the young Borg they rescued) has already been used.
Here's a hint as to what I'd have written: Hugh was LeForge's *FRIEND*! If they had any dramatic sense, they'd have understood that the power of friendship is a great thing (maybe Hollyweird producers don't have real friends -- that would explain a lot...). Anyway, imagine an episode where the Borg approach. Fear is palpable, but all they want is to see their friend, Giordi(sp?). This episode would have the added effect of giving Levar Burton another job, he hasn't been busy lately if I'm correct.
Anyway, IIRC what they did with Hugh was something to do with that "Q" being- character, and this after spending an episode with Picard agonizing over letting him back loose among his kind with a "virus." It could have been fascinating. It was instead forgettable. The Borg is/are the ultimate libertarian dystopia, and not using them to their fullest is silly (and fiscally irresponsible) of Paramount.
Slowly, the producers are coming to understand that economics (despite their apparent hatred of capitalism expressed in the original Firengi episodes) and sex (everyone else has already discussed Seven of Nine, a character one web- page amusingly called "36 of D"!) are what "sell," along with THINKING. Some of the best episodes were those on Data's legal status, for example. The idea of a moneyless, sexless, 100% legally-decided future sounds like hell to me, and (for once) average TV viewers seem to agree. (Paramount can contact me for my rates on a good Hugh episode, I *might* be surprisingly cheap.) JMR
To be serious for a second (since this is old, and the comment I'm replying to is already rated "funny," I doubt anyone reads what I'm about to say anyway) I think that weightless sex will be the first commercially viable harnessing of space. Anyone who has done it in a pool knows the benefits of escaping gravity, and the drawbacks of pools are legion (going far beyond the possibility of drowning if you're not careful!).
I don't know if anyone noticed, but when NASA sent a husband and wife team up, almost all media questions were directed to those 2. Sadly for the USA, I think the Russians beat us on that one, though I haven't heard any claims to the "MileS High Club" from them. As one of the astronauts said, "gravity sucks," so I expect this development to happen, but probably as a honeymoon thing rather than a slutty prostitute thing, within my lifetime. JMR
I hereby proclaim my intent to violate any patent that includes or mentions any genetic material contained in my body, forever, no matter what statist judges, clueless lawyers, or the "we'll grant any" patent office says. I don't know HOW I'll do it, but if it's possible I'll do it. (I assume they've granted patents on my genetic material in my body to either the government or a corporation, and I don't care which it is.)
I further call for massive civil disobedience on the part of others, as many as possible. If this is not resisted, it will only spread. Like others, I've noticed the patent office has become increasingly-promiscuous in granting questionable patents of late. I'm not sure I can explain why completely, but part of it has to do with trying to use the PTO as a revenue source, a policy which began in the Reagan administration, and continues in this (even-more-Nixonian) Lippo administration. JMR (Speaking for myself only, don't try being me at home.)
has an accusation that a critical move recommended for ``The World'' was not posted by Microsoft, thereby effectively losing the contest, or at least eliminating the possibility for a draw. GK denies this, claiming the different move wouldn't have mattered. JMR
Zigg is exactly right, and the important thing to keep in mind is that old Nixon era maxim: "follow the money."
The FEC and the ACLU are made up of (prepare for a shock) LAWYERS!
Doing as Zigg suggests would eliminate jobs for (drum roll) LAWYERS!!
This would mean less loot, more competition, all sorts of "bad things" for those who would control speech -- who happen to be LAWYERS!
The people who want to do as Zigg (and ok, I) suggest generally aren't, we would benefit financially from fewer crappy rulings from _______ (fill in the blank). The only thing lacking on the other side is (ironically) financial-disclosure-honesty like I just gave above. It's all about greed, I admit it and they don't.
The people will again respect the law (and the lawyers) when the law again respects the will of the people. JMR
http://www.webfunds.org/ also has a wallet, multi-currency and also open source.
(Disclaimer, it uses one currency that may make me rich, if I work hard and sit up straight and smile a lot at the right people -- DigiGold.)
I can show anyone who's interested a small e-gold transaction, just click on the QuickGold URL and send me an account number, saying you saw this here. We want to help commerce work -- no obligation. JMR
Slashdot Mirror
I have no idea whether any of the posters on Slashdot are female, or if they are white or black or Asian. How can I discriminate when I don't have anything at all to go upon?
Exactly! For the past few days, Katz has been acting like folks who read and write here are all one color & one sex. Not only is that not true, the internet allows us to get beyond race and gender in ways humanity has never before done. Take my friend Lizard, for example. I have never seen him, I've only talked with him once, but I respect him because of his words, since I tend to agree with a lot (not all) of them, and I find him funny. That's the beauty of the internet, your words -- and NOT your melanin-content or your family's name or your bank account size or any other bullcrap -- matter. Thoughts, not colors. Someone once had a dream about this kind of a situation, and now it's a reality. Interesting to see who likes and dislikes this reality...
I hate to hurl accusations of racism back and forth, so I'll just say this: Mr. Katz might want to look in the mirror before posting speculative (and false) stuff like this about race or gender and the internet (which is a GOOD thing). There's a reason that many folks like me eschew the politically-correct media these days, and Mr. Katz has just provided an object lesson in why.
JMR
(Speaking only for myself, here.)
...But it isn't on their web page yet, eh?
;^)
Hi, Zooko, sadly it isn't yet, but since my customers and I all like these guys a lot I think it's bound to happen soon (FC00? -- hey, ya going this year?). It's strange, I regularly offer ZKS (and Slashdot) folks a chance to play around with a bit of e-gold, and nobody takes me up on it! This, despite the cool new Real Gold Lotto that recently popped up. (I've got nothing to do with them, I know nothing, I see nothing...) Take advantage of me, everybody, create an account and I'll click you some gold!
Anyway, I get the very strong feeling of another digital cash developing (and if it does, I'd hope for G&SR to make a market between it and e-gold and/or DigiGold). I want to see a thousand flowers bloom in this area, as I'm sure many folks do. Of course, I can't predict others' actions, so it's just a feeling, but it should be an interesting conference in Anguilla this time, and I can't wait!
JMR
P.S. Tell Joy to e-mail me!
From what I've heard, they implement a limit on e-mails per day per user which would not be noticed by an ordinary user but would pretty much prevent spam. I'm not certain how they'd deal with threats and hoaxes.
:^) Seriously, we tried HARD for a while to use a credit card to buy a set of 'nyms -- without success -- for a LONG time. There are other payment options that they should consider, among them e-gold. (Go ahead, moderate me down, this is a blatantly self-interested comment but I needed to say it.)
I like the company, they've hired some very smart and very nice people, but I wish they'd be more forward-thinking regarding efficient payment options.
JMR
Methinks it'll be time soon for a mutual fund that invests exclusively in Linux companies and does so across the board.
:)
While it's easy to agree with this statement given short-range hindsight to recent events, I'd think some of you would be old enough -- like me -- to recall wizened old stockbrokers telling you to "look for a low P/E ratio & good, sound earnings fundamentals." That sounds anachronistic in this day of e-anything-&-everything-must-be-great, but that's due to emotion and not bottom-line logic, IMO. Remember, we cannot be certain when or if we will achieve sustained profitability is what they said [emphasis mine, naturally].
When companies that have never seen anything but a sea of red ink (I'm thinking Amazon now, not Red Hat, but this applies to both and many others) get overhyped, little-guy investors will get nailed in the end, IMO. In the meantime, I've seen a number of fundamentally sound ideas go begging for VC money (in part this is my failing, I wish I were better at hype than I am) with scant/no media attention and hence no investor attention, despite being in the black & having a good, specific business plan and fun, unique products.
Oh well. I predict a lot of "evolution" in the market this year, with possibly even a few extinctions (not thinking about Amazon OR Red Hat now, and I won't say who I AM thinking of). Disclaimer: I am not licensed to give investment advice (and not only that, many people think I'm an idiot).
JMR
That word, more than anything, has done wonders to clean up many folks' language in an enjoyable way (I include mine). Indeed, it's puzzling that conservatives such as self-appointed moralist and former "drug czar" Willaim Bennett object to the show, since every damn one of them seems to be a little morality play in some way or another, IMO.
/. should have featured: u gs/index.html y ola/index.html yesterday and today.
Begin off-topic rant:
(Ok, I'll stop posting about the Simpsons now, but not before I say
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/13/dr
and
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/14/pa
End off-topic rant.
JMR
Was when Homer opens the fridge and pulls out a can of Duff (great name, BTW) which was pre-shaken in a paint-shaker by Bart. A thermonuclear explosion, complete with mushroom-shaped cloud, results. Homer had asked for it, Gary Hart style, and had done something beforehand to Bart (which escapes me at the moment, too much Duff while watching, I guess).
JMR
That one WAS the best (indeed, I was going to post it myself). I laughed so hard it hurt, and still do, whenever I see it.
Fox, and only Fox, could have done this back when it came along.
JMR
First let me say that I'm not a programmer (I'm a mouth) and that the following could easily be interpreted as totally self-interested, and to top it off they aren't even Linux-specific. Moderate me down, see if I care. :)
/. assistance appreciated). Obligatory Commercial: Anybody on Slashdot who wants to try e-gold today can e-mail me with an account number.
The guys at http://www.cryptix.org/ are my favorites. Cryptix(tm) is an international volunteer effort to produce robust, open-source cryptographic software libraries. Cryptix products are free, both for commercial and non-commercial use and are being used by developers all over the world. Development is currently focused on Java. Without them, the cool stuff that's happening at: http://www.webfunds.org/ Webfunds (some of it indirectly involving my company) would not be possible.
Along some of the same lines, what's going on at: http://www.erights.org/ E involving a secure distributed object platform and scripting language for writing Capability-Based Smart Contracts is also exceptionally cool, and somewhat related is Tyler's http://www.waterken.com/ Waterken (which isn't a charity, but which is very cool IMO). Disclaimer: I like all the principals of these 4 groups as friends, and all 4 groups tend to "get" what I sell, which is e-gold, which currently uses too much closed-source stuff (that may change in the future,
Something to keep in mind is the old adage "follow the money." It's as true in trying to supplant M$ as it is in politics, IMO. Good luck, choose well, and above all have fun.
JMR
[Speaking only for myself, YMMV, etc. etc.]
... This is a real problem, which I think geeks should think about.
Perhaps a few girls might want to think about it, too.
JMR
(I find Paulina's writing -- even without the pseudocode -- incredibly annoying
and filled with stupid overgeneralizing. Don't buy her book!!!)
(Speaking only for myself, here.) I'd want /. to consider writing in: Dave Barry. I'm serious, we could prevent the "debate" from becoming the usual snooze-fest, and Dave has the advantage of already running anyway. I'd rather hear what Dave Barry asks "W." than what Sam Donaldson asks, and I think most here would concur.
I'm also serious when I say that much "campaign finance reform" is censorship, with a historical record of minimal value (albeit increasing regulatory control) since Watergate. As long as there's disclosure (something those who take money from suspiciously-rich Buddhists don't like talking about) I don't care WHAT a candidate spends on some silly "advance auction of stolen goods."
The people seem to feel the same way (witness Michael Huffington's $30 million or so down the drain). I am aware that others disagree, and they tend to (somehow) trust the news media to be fair and impartial. I can't share that faith. Try running for something (I have) and THEN say that money isn't important to spread your political speech. The answer isn't limits, it's disclosure, along with swift, credible, IMPARTIAL (that's "no more favoring the 2 major parties over other parties") punishment for violators. Another answer is just not to vote, since it only encourages them.
(Again, speaking only for myself, YMMV, moderate me down as flamebait, etc.)
JMR
444.00 Palladium
;^) Moderate me
404.50 Platinum (buy either today, at our site, but those aren't our buying prices,
they are our selling prices.)
Both (in various mixtures, I'm told) are in the catalytic converters of automobiles.
I'm interested in the scientific politics (yep, it's there) of fusion. I think "cold fusion"
has an unfortunate moniker, but is interesting because of unexplained results
nonetheless. I don't claim to know the answers, but I find the FAITH exhibited by
those who do claim to know what's going on unseemly, considering the fact that
they can't explain the unexplained results in a satisfactory way (IMO). I'll stop now,
I'm in danger of expressing an opinion and I'm out of my league.
down, now!!!
JMR
Hmmm. Interesting idea, but I wonder how one would pay instantly and irrevocably?
(Go ahead, moderate me down as a dirty spammer, see if I care!)
JMR
PS If anyone wants to create an account, see a spend, and make a payment with
e-gold in the next day, I'll oblige. Instant gratification for Slashdot readers.
Here is Dave's article which goes far beyond the gravitational effects... Off-topic rant follows:
I am still mildly annoyed that the Herald took down his take on Miami-style corruption, wherein he suggests that government be turned over to the mob, who are at least efficient at being crooks. Like the comic strip "Shoe," it may have "hit a bit too close to home" for the Herald.
JMR
I for one don't trust the shuttle to be in the air in 11 days time.
Don't worry, neither does NASA. They said they'd cut one "EVA" (spacewalk) which would have covered some peeling paint(!) on rails around the telescope, in order to get back in time for Y2K. They're concentrating on replacing the 6 gyroscopes this time, according to the local talking heads on TV.
I saw the launch live last night (I live in Melbourne, FL) and it was lovely. No matter how you feel about the government's space program (I'm ambivalent-to-negative on it, much as I'm a fan of space exploration in general) a night launch from the Cape is a beautiful sight.
JMR
There are laws that limit consumers' ability to borrow money for the purpose of gambling. The gambling site and/or the customer (of both the gambling site and the credit card company) didn't obey these laws. Now there's an expensive lawsuit.
:^) Besides, it looks like a gambling site may soon finally 'get' what I do, whether or not most "'net journalists" ever do...
The solution MIGHT just be to employ a different online currency for gambling -- perhaps one that eschews debt. I could suggest a currency that never experiences "chargebacks," but that would make this message spam.
JMR
www.digigold.net * -- in order for non-governmental entities to be believed, they must back currency with something valuable, just as governments used to do. An interesting experiment is to ask people what backs the US dollar. They may SAY "gold," but all they've got is paper. :)
JMR
* while backed with e-gold and exchangeable gram for gram, digigold has nothing to do with e-gold, it's merely an electronic cash way of eliminating spend and storage fees and allowing certain other advantages...More at www.systemics.com
(Go ahead, moderate this down. I'm totally self-interested and I don't care.)
I plan not to set foot in a mall this holiday season. e-gold makes a wonderful and increasingly-useful gift. 100% backed, convertible into snailed checks in various national currencies for the terminally unimaginative. It comes in four flavors (gold, silver, platinum and palladium) and offers a decent privacy policy (we don't sell or give away customer information).
Anyone on Slashdot wanting to see a small demonstration spend can e-mail me, removing the underlined lunchmeat, with an account number or a snail address for more information.
Shareware authors should be especially interested in the micropayment possibility e-gold offers.
There are also a number of charitable possibilities, in the spirit of the season.
Thanks.
JMR
Freedom is found at ZKS -- http://www.zks.net (a very cool company, IMO).
John Gilmore's homepage http://www.toad.com/gnu/index.html has more
about SWAN http://www.toad.com/gnu/swan.html which seems like a good
idea to me. http://www.xs4all.nl/~freeswan/ is the main site. Linux FreeS/WAN
is an implementation of IPSEC & IKE for Linux.
I personally hope that there's a financial privacy (as well as personal privacy)
backlash from all this garbage, for obvious very-selfish reasons.
JMR
(The message below was posted to the fight-censorship mailing
:(
list. I'll check out ompages.com now, sounds interesting.)
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Nice analysis on Slashdot, Jamie. I'd only add my opinion that
just because TRUSTe has demonstrated over and over they're
not trustworthy does NOT mean that the executive, legislative,
or even judicial branches of the US government have suddenly
become more trustworthy. IMO, it's negative-zero vs negative-
zero.
The problem here is a bad funding-model. Whether it's giant
corporations or suspiciously-wealthy Buddhists, if individual
privacy is desired you're going to see better results if you use
individual funding. The top-rated comment, titled "Change the
revenue stream" by Brian Knotts (bknotts@europa.com) says
it pretty well, IMO. "Follow the money" is at least as true now
as it was in Nixon's day. I agree with Michael that whoever is
reading the info@truste.org mail should update that resume,
and I'm sorry (though not surprised) to hear RealNetworks'
stock (like M$ stock) went up instead of down today.
The advent of instantly-settled bearer payment media should
make individual-funding revenue models easier to implement.
See http://webfunds.org/download/zip_README.html for more
about one bearer payment* method, there are others too.
JMR
* My company is (somewhat tangentially) involved with the
DigiGold folks, although the Webfunds wallet is open-source
and supports any type of payment it can.
I could write a whole Borg episode (and would, if they paid me!). I don't know
if there's still time/plot for my episode, though, because TNG is gone and Hugh
(the young Borg they rescued) has already been used.
Here's a hint as to what I'd have written: Hugh was LeForge's *FRIEND*! If they
had any dramatic sense, they'd have understood that the power of friendship is
a great thing (maybe Hollyweird producers don't have real friends -- that would
explain a lot...). Anyway, imagine an episode where the Borg approach. Fear is
palpable, but all they want is to see their friend, Giordi(sp?). This episode would
have the added effect of giving Levar Burton another job, he hasn't been busy
lately if I'm correct.
Anyway, IIRC what they did with Hugh was something to do with that "Q" being-
character, and this after spending an episode with Picard agonizing over letting
him back loose among his kind with a "virus." It could have been fascinating. It
was instead forgettable. The Borg is/are the ultimate libertarian dystopia, and
not using them to their fullest is silly (and fiscally irresponsible) of Paramount.
Slowly, the producers are coming to understand that economics (despite their
apparent hatred of capitalism expressed in the original Firengi episodes) and
sex (everyone else has already discussed Seven of Nine, a character one web-
page amusingly called "36 of D"!) are what "sell," along with THINKING. Some
of the best episodes were those on Data's legal status, for example. The idea
of a moneyless, sexless, 100% legally-decided future sounds like hell to me, and
(for once) average TV viewers seem to agree. (Paramount can contact me for
my rates on a good Hugh episode, I *might* be surprisingly cheap.)
JMR
To be serious for a second (since this is old, and the comment I'm replying to is already
rated "funny," I doubt anyone reads what I'm about to say anyway) I think that weightless
sex will be the first commercially viable harnessing of space. Anyone who has done it in a
pool knows the benefits of escaping gravity, and the drawbacks of pools are legion (going
far beyond the possibility of drowning if you're not careful!).
I don't know if anyone noticed, but when NASA sent a husband and wife team up, almost
all media questions were directed to those 2. Sadly for the USA, I think the Russians beat
us on that one, though I haven't heard any claims to the "MileS High Club" from them. As
one of the astronauts said, "gravity sucks," so I expect this development to happen, but
probably as a honeymoon thing rather than a slutty prostitute thing, within my lifetime.
JMR
I hereby proclaim my intent to violate any patent that includes or mentions any genetic
material contained in my body, forever, no matter what statist judges, clueless lawyers,
or the "we'll grant any" patent office says. I don't know HOW I'll do it, but if it's possible
I'll do it. (I assume they've granted patents on my genetic material in my body to either
the government or a corporation, and I don't care which it is.)
I further call for massive civil disobedience on the part of others, as many as possible.
If this is not resisted, it will only spread. Like others, I've noticed the patent office has
become increasingly-promiscuous in granting questionable patents of late. I'm not sure
I can explain why completely, but part of it has to do with trying to use the PTO as a
revenue source, a policy which began in the Reagan administration, and continues in
this (even-more-Nixonian) Lippo administration.
JMR
(Speaking for myself only, don't try being me at home.)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991020/wr/chess_ microsoft_5.html
has an accusation that a critical move recommended for ``The World'' was not posted
by Microsoft, thereby effectively losing the contest, or at least eliminating the possibility
for a draw. GK denies this, claiming the different move wouldn't have mattered.
JMR
Zigg is exactly right, and the important thing to keep in mind is that old
Nixon era maxim: "follow the money."
The FEC and the ACLU are made up of (prepare for a shock) LAWYERS!
Doing as Zigg suggests would eliminate jobs for (drum roll) LAWYERS!!
This would mean less loot, more competition, all sorts of "bad things" for
those who would control speech -- who happen to be LAWYERS!
The people who want to do as Zigg (and ok, I) suggest generally aren't,
we would benefit financially from fewer crappy rulings from _______
(fill in the blank). The only thing lacking on the other side is (ironically)
financial-disclosure-honesty like I just gave above. It's all about greed, I
admit it and they don't.
The people will again respect the law (and the lawyers) when the law
again respects the will of the people.
JMR
http://www.webfunds.org/ also has a wallet, multi-currency and also open source.
(Disclaimer, it uses one currency that may make me rich, if I work hard and sit up
straight and smile a lot at the right people -- DigiGold.)
I can show anyone who's interested a small e-gold transaction, just click on the
QuickGold URL and send me an account number, saying you saw this here. We
want to help commerce work -- no obligation.
JMR