This great phenomenon is vastly under-appreciated by the world's governments. If they don't start formulating policies (and alternatives to capitalism?) fast, there'll be a bloody revolution when millions can't find work because robots are doing essentially everything. I don't know the answer (socialism, time banks, feudalism, or whatever), but we need to think this through to keep people from starving (esp. when the robots rebel, of course.)
You're talking about a mass driver, the likes of which has been featured in several sci-fi books (e.g. The Unreasoning Mask, by Farmer) and vids (e.g. Babylon 5). I agree -- This is the scariest potential military application of a moon base.
The idea of a "kids-safe" domain is fundamentally sound (from a psychological perspective). The problem is that 'kids' don't like to be called "kids". Ergo, ".kids.us" is likely to be a dismal failure in the target market, even if it's a good idea (i.e., if you were 13-16, would you be caught dead surfing a domain called 'yadda-yadda.kids.com'? I didn't think so...)
Another place to go for help would be Volunteers for Medical Engineering. They do a lot of terrific stuff - My business partner has been involved in a number of their projects, such as a mouth/breath-controlled IR keyboard built for a quadrapalegic.
Bob Mossberg reviewed ChoiceMail from DigiPortal in a recent column, and said his spam dropped to zero as a result of using the product. It's a permissions-based e-mail software package. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks interesting.
Here's some free (as in freedom) sample text for a letter:
Dear Hon. [Senator or Rep Name],
I'm writing in regards to a recent FCC ruling concerning the privacy of your telephone conversations, as well as those of your staff and your constituents. The ruling is profiled in an article in PCWorld Magazine, which is available at this Web site:
The key points of the ruling are summarized in the opening paragraphs of the article:
"Phone companies now can share a consumer's private information with certain affiliates without first getting that customer's consent, a new Federal Communications Commission ruling says. Details of who customers call, when they call, and how long they talk may be shared with communications-related corporate affiliates, the ruling says. Customers can choose to keep such information private, but must initiate the request. The carrier does not have to ask permission."
I believe this ruling represents an egregious threat to my privacy, as well as the privacy of all Americans. As such, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to use the powers of your office promptly and vigorously to persuade the FCC to reverse this ruling, or (at a minimum) alter it such that it is an "Opt In" style program (in which consumers must explicitly give permission to the phone company to share this data.)
Thank you for your attention. I sincerely appreciate the efforts of you and your staff on behalf of all [Your State] - Keep up the great work!
Your Sincere Constituent,
[Your name AND address - Include your four-digit zip code extension!]
Note that you'll have to use Web-based forms to contact these folks - They like to make sure you're one of their constituents before they read your mail.
Actually, getting a game to move characters in the most 'efficient' manner possible is extremely difficult for a computer to do. It's a variation on the old travelling-salesman problem: If you are a salesman who has to visit the capitols of the lower 48, what's the most efficient path for you to take? It turns out to be a fiendishly difficult problem to solve, even for supercomputers (which until recently took several days to solve it).
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This great phenomenon is vastly under-appreciated by the world's governments. If they don't start formulating policies (and alternatives to capitalism?) fast, there'll be a bloody revolution when millions can't find work because robots are doing essentially everything. I don't know the answer (socialism, time banks, feudalism, or whatever), but we need to think this through to keep people from starving (esp. when the robots rebel, of course.)
You're talking about a mass driver, the likes of which has been featured in several sci-fi books (e.g. The Unreasoning Mask, by Farmer) and vids (e.g. Babylon 5). I agree -- This is the scariest potential military application of a moon base.
See zapyourcrap.com for some ideas.
I heard about this book recently on NPR, though I haven't had a chance to read it yet, so can't comment on how good it is: http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Reason-Closing-Scientific-Mind/dp/0465005071/
The idea of a "kids-safe" domain is fundamentally sound (from a psychological perspective). The problem is that 'kids' don't like to be called "kids". Ergo, ".kids.us" is likely to be a dismal failure in the target market, even if it's a good idea (i.e., if you were 13-16, would you be caught dead surfing a domain called 'yadda-yadda.kids.com'? I didn't think so...)
Another place to go for help would be Volunteers for Medical Engineering. They do a lot of terrific stuff - My business partner has been involved in a number of their projects, such as a mouth/breath-controlled IR keyboard built for a quadrapalegic.
Bob Mossberg reviewed ChoiceMail from DigiPortal in a recent column, and said his spam dropped to zero as a result of using the product. It's a permissions-based e-mail software package. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks interesting.
Aside from complaining to the FCC (kudos to sub4hleet for this,) you should write your congressional reps. Here's how to find them:
US House of Representatives
US Senate
Here's some free (as in freedom) sample text for a letter:
Dear Hon. [Senator or Rep Name],
I'm writing in regards to a recent FCC ruling concerning the privacy of your telephone conversations, as well as those of your staff and your constituents. The ruling is profiled in an article in PCWorld Magazine, which is available at this Web site:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,102743,
The key points of the ruling are summarized in the opening paragraphs of the article:
"Phone companies now can share a consumer's private information with certain affiliates without first getting that customer's consent, a new Federal Communications Commission ruling says. Details of who customers call, when they call, and how long they talk may be shared with communications-related corporate affiliates, the ruling says. Customers can choose to keep such information private, but must initiate the request. The carrier does not have to ask permission."
I believe this ruling represents an egregious threat to my privacy, as well as the privacy of all Americans. As such, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to use the powers of your office promptly and vigorously to persuade the FCC to reverse this ruling, or (at a minimum) alter it such that it is an "Opt In" style program (in which consumers must explicitly give permission to the phone company to share this data.)
Thank you for your attention. I sincerely appreciate the efforts of you and your staff on behalf of all [Your State] - Keep up the great work!
Your Sincere Constituent,
[Your name AND address - Include your four-digit zip code extension!]
Note that you'll have to use Web-based forms to contact these folks - They like to make sure you're one of their constituents before they read your mail.
Actually, getting a game to move characters in the most 'efficient' manner possible is extremely difficult for a computer to do. It's a variation on the old travelling-salesman problem: If you are a salesman who has to visit the capitols of the lower 48, what's the most efficient path for you to take? It turns out to be a fiendishly difficult problem to solve, even for supercomputers (which until recently took several days to solve it).