That's true, but most people, in their everyday lives, don't need it to scale well; they only need it to scale enough to cover their own needs. Joe has potatoes, I have goat milk, let's swap our surplus and both eat well. Doesn't do shit for international trade balances and annoys the tax man, and returns us to a medieval level of extremely local economies, but works passably well for individuals.
You are correct, tho I think the gov't motivation is entirely "can we tax it?" with control and unpersoning as merely the natural side effect... which of course will be used by that gov't, when it feels the need for more control.
A cash shadow economy is hard to tax; it basically depends on self-reporting and the occasional sting operation. But they'll find that the natural result of eliminating cash, the _barter_ shadow economy, is impossible to tax -- at least not without outright confiscation of assets. And gov't agents tramping into your flat and making away with your furniture is likely to generate a whole lot more resentment than does the taxman invisibly confiscating part of your wages.
I read all three together, and it's really all one big book in three parts; I don't recall the 3rd as a waste, just didn't go where one might hope it would (I think it did a good job of that). Someone's complaint above (how did these people live after the Lifeclock died?) got addressed along the way, and it wasn't pretty. The TV series was more an extension of the 2nd book than of the film, tho I suppose that's appropriate.
Should dig 'em out and reread in Johnson's honor. Talked with him a few times over the years, and he was a terrific person.
Voters are not the solution. Voters are the problem. How do you think so many idiots got into office?
You and me educating ourselves is a drop in the ocean; we can't educate everyone (and "educated" according to whose tenets, anyway??) and we can't sway every opinion to the side of sanity and integrity (again, according to whom?)
The best solution I've seen offered is to tie voting rights to national service, so people at least get *some* hands-on in the real world before they can step into a ballot box. Serve, and vote; don't serve, can't vote; your choice.
Because with the bubble-wrapped generation coming up to voting age, and soon after to electable age, I'm not seeing election results get better; quite the reverse.
Redistribution being the keyword there... except if these anti-carbon trolls have their way, it'll be the poor and developing nations that suffer most. Energy is wealth. China understands that; it's why they're building coal-fired plants right and left.
And declining temps are, historically, a bad thing. You can pretty much map periods of peace and prosperity to warmer temps, and periods of war and mass migration to cooler temps. Most crops like it warmer and wetter rather than cooler and drier. Cooler temps equate to famine, with its predictable results.
Pro dog trainer here... that's not necessarily why it barks. The tendency to bark continuously is inherited (simple dominant gene) and was selected for in many breeds, especially those used for protection of people or livestock, because the noise keeps predators away. So a lot of 'em just have the urge to bark, ALL the time, and if they're not doing something more pressing -- they bark.
Bored dogs without this gene find something else to do, especially if they've got a whole yard to chew on.
Tea Party, as it was originally conceived, was basically libertarian. Not right-wing, for whatever that means anymore.
At this point I'd like to march 'em all into the sea, but I've seen far more damage done by the leftists. So I'd like them to march off first, please...
The right tends to want to censor anti-gov't speech. The left tends to want to censor any speech they disagree with, or that makes them uncomfortable.
Neither is a good thing, but the latter is far more useful for creating little peoplebots that march in lockstep... and therefore are easier for the gov't to control. (Recommended viewing: any of the talks by Yuri Bezmenov. Most enlightening about the modern left.)
My truck would be condemned as a crank caller -- super-stiff suspension so it rides like a brick shithouse, and would be setting the thing off every time I went over a bump.
How much would it take to let them once again use an external antenna? Cripes, design it to plug into the USB charging port, that would be what, one extra wire?
Butte is a union town where the union's demands killed the economy. There's probably more to this than meets the eye... I haven't kept track of Butte politics in a long time, but would guess there's been anonymous pressure in directions that didn't suit whatever's left of TPTB.
But yeah, it does break the implied contract with existing commenters, and which of my real names would you prefer?? there's no law that I have to use the one on my birth certificate; so long as I have no intent to defraud I can call myself anything I like. I'd suggest a spate of posts by... oh, say, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
I expect the furor is not over blinding pilots (as the first poster points out, that would be like hitting a keyhole from the wrong direction) but rather, the potential for "painting targets" and fear of terrorists with shoulder-launched missiles.
Slashdot Mirror
That's true, but most people, in their everyday lives, don't need it to scale well; they only need it to scale enough to cover their own needs. Joe has potatoes, I have goat milk, let's swap our surplus and both eat well. Doesn't do shit for international trade balances and annoys the tax man, and returns us to a medieval level of extremely local economies, but works passably well for individuals.
You are correct, tho I think the gov't motivation is entirely "can we tax it?" with control and unpersoning as merely the natural side effect... which of course will be used by that gov't, when it feels the need for more control.
A cash shadow economy is hard to tax; it basically depends on self-reporting and the occasional sting operation. But they'll find that the natural result of eliminating cash, the _barter_ shadow economy, is impossible to tax -- at least not without outright confiscation of assets. And gov't agents tramping into your flat and making away with your furniture is likely to generate a whole lot more resentment than does the taxman invisibly confiscating part of your wages.
I read all three together, and it's really all one big book in three parts; I don't recall the 3rd as a waste, just didn't go where one might hope it would (I think it did a good job of that). Someone's complaint above (how did these people live after the Lifeclock died?) got addressed along the way, and it wasn't pretty. The TV series was more an extension of the 2nd book than of the film, tho I suppose that's appropriate.
Should dig 'em out and reread in Johnson's honor. Talked with him a few times over the years, and he was a terrific person.
Voters are not the solution. Voters are the problem. How do you think so many idiots got into office?
You and me educating ourselves is a drop in the ocean; we can't educate everyone (and "educated" according to whose tenets, anyway??) and we can't sway every opinion to the side of sanity and integrity (again, according to whom?)
The best solution I've seen offered is to tie voting rights to national service, so people at least get *some* hands-on in the real world before they can step into a ballot box. Serve, and vote; don't serve, can't vote; your choice.
Because with the bubble-wrapped generation coming up to voting age, and soon after to electable age, I'm not seeing election results get better; quite the reverse.
Nonsense. With a good BBQ sauce, ewoks are delicious.
Actually, I paid good money for this board; it has a Job. If it dies, I'll spend good money to buy another just like it.
Redistribution being the keyword there... except if these anti-carbon trolls have their way, it'll be the poor and developing nations that suffer most. Energy is wealth. China understands that; it's why they're building coal-fired plants right and left.
And declining temps are, historically, a bad thing. You can pretty much map periods of peace and prosperity to warmer temps, and periods of war and mass migration to cooler temps. Most crops like it warmer and wetter rather than cooler and drier. Cooler temps equate to famine, with its predictable results.
Pro dog trainer here... that's not necessarily why it barks. The tendency to bark continuously is inherited (simple dominant gene) and was selected for in many breeds, especially those used for protection of people or livestock, because the noise keeps predators away. So a lot of 'em just have the urge to bark, ALL the time, and if they're not doing something more pressing -- they bark.
Bored dogs without this gene find something else to do, especially if they've got a whole yard to chew on.
Or ask the neighbor to get a bark collar for the dog. Innotek is probably the most durable brand for the money.
Tea Party, as it was originally conceived, was basically libertarian. Not right-wing, for whatever that means anymore.
At this point I'd like to march 'em all into the sea, but I've seen far more damage done by the leftists. So I'd like them to march off first, please...
The right tends to want to censor anti-gov't speech. The left tends to want to censor any speech they disagree with, or that makes them uncomfortable.
Neither is a good thing, but the latter is far more useful for creating little peoplebots that march in lockstep... and therefore are easier for the gov't to control. (Recommended viewing: any of the talks by Yuri Bezmenov. Most enlightening about the modern left.)
And easily defeated by any sort of substitution code, say, the easily-recognisable ROT13.
My truck would be condemned as a crank caller -- super-stiff suspension so it rides like a brick shithouse, and would be setting the thing off every time I went over a bump.
How much would it take to let them once again use an external antenna? Cripes, design it to plug into the USB charging port, that would be what, one extra wire?
Ditto modern SJWs.
The mechanical lock hasn't done all that badly; the tech is 4000 years old, and in any event only serves to keep honest people honest.
This explains how I've had a few incidents where a lock came open unexpectedly -- under tension and being knocked around and ...whoops.
Excellent! Got something with ISA slots??
Despite the consummate irony, for once I agree with you.
Butte is a union town where the union's demands killed the economy. There's probably more to this than meets the eye... I haven't kept track of Butte politics in a long time, but would guess there's been anonymous pressure in directions that didn't suit whatever's left of TPTB.
But yeah, it does break the implied contract with existing commenters, and which of my real names would you prefer?? there's no law that I have to use the one on my birth certificate; so long as I have no intent to defraud I can call myself anything I like. I'd suggest a spate of posts by ... oh, say, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
There may not be much left to change or update. But the project itself is still alive, far as I can tell.
I suggest that ISIS practice the chopping off of heads solely on people who agree with their message...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
This isn't refugees; it's an invading army.
I expect the furor is not over blinding pilots (as the first poster points out, that would be like hitting a keyhole from the wrong direction) but rather, the potential for "painting targets" and fear of terrorists with shoulder-launched missiles.