This. I never touch paper media anymore. I do read Kindle books; study Wikipedia as well as a number of other primary and secondary sources; read, listen to, and watch the news from several different regions and countries; stay more current in my hobbies than magazines ever let me; and even subscribe to a few traditionally dead-tree magazines in electronic format because I like their editorial style. I'm considerably more broad than I ever was with paper.
As far as lowering study scores, sure. Studying more often than not--or at least the easily testable type--involves a crapload of rote memorization. You know what's not particularly important anymore now that you can look just about anything up on your phone? Rote memorization.
OTOH, I bet these kids are a hell of a lot better than I ever will be at knowing how to find relevant information and benefit from easy access to the work of others. And for the benefit of others, they'll contribute what they want to and are able to as well. In fact, they'll be able to contribute that much more that's novel because they're not wasting their time and brainspace memorizing other people's knowledge for lack of a good way to have it at hand.
Speaking as an adult who wasn't diagnosed with or treated for "nonexistent" ADHD until 39, in no small part because his parents bought into the absolutely bullshit line of crap you're spouting when his teachers pointed it out at age six:
Fuck you.
Your other points may be valid, but your straw man is so deeply offensive that I can't possibly absorb them.
He doesn't move. He is completely fixated on the screen. He needs me to make several attempts before his attention is diverted from the screen. He can look away breifly to talk to you but is trying to glance back at the screen.
We have no TV service and no occasion for him to watch TV. We do have a small handful of movies we let him watch occasionally.
These two things could be related. I realize you're not a strict "no watching anything" household, but if TV is rare enough to him it will be supremely interesting when it is there.
Not speaking as a parent here, so take with as much salt as one needs, but I suspect giving a child something else to be interested in is just as important as enforcing moderation in things like TV, games, whatnot. Sounds like you do that. I also commend the attention you're plainly giving your child.
A lot of parents seem to just yank the TV because it's "evil", throw the kid a book, then wonder why it doesn't work out. I think anything can be made into a constructive backdrop for an interactive activity. Even books can make a lousy passive babysitter, especially for kids who for whatever reason don't end up loving reading.
There are a number of ways that artificial-intelligence-like routines have directly improved your life, particularly if you've recently listened to Pandora or shopped "related items" at Amazon. Association is one of the core qualities of intelligence. Without knowing the specific algorithms involved, my guess is that some of the closed-loop optimizations in powertrains and similar self-adjusting systems may also have gotten some benefit as well.
We still code in text because we've tried a number of other things and--for humans--text is largely superior for everything except UI layout.
If you only define computing by the interfaces, what you're going to butt up against isn't computing's limitations, but ours.
I'm pushing 40, and getting into the range where ergo issues come up more than I'd like--have occasional RSI issues in my arms and wrists, and my back and neck aren't quite as forgiving as they used to be.
One thing that's worked well for me was moving to Herman Miller Embody chairs at both work and home. I'm not necessarily recommending that exact model. I like them, but the styling is unusual and they're pricy if you don't find a good discount somewhere (hint, ask if you can arrange to piggyback on your work's furniture orders so you get volume discount. I got mine for ~$700 with warranty intact).
What makes them good, though, is that they're built to move around with you so you can fidget properly. The back is built like a spine that flexes, they're shaped to let your shoulders swing back while sitting, there's just enough side-to-side give under the seat to let you shift your weight meaningfully without feeling like it's unstable, etc. Working with the tension settings also lets you find a sweet spot where you're suspended at a proper ~110deg recline by spring tension so you can use your legs to move you forward and back with no effort, which encourages you to flex them. It's no replacement for getting up and walking around, but it keeps you from getting locked into one position and that helps hugely.
I'm sure there are other and probably less expensive chairs out there that give you the same freedom of movement while providing some level of back support. Finding one may make a big difference.
But...beware of armrests. Someone above me mentioned resting the elbow of their mousing hand. Yeah, seems like a good idea, feels better in the short term, did it from the beginning of my hardcore computing career. 20 years later, I've got all kinds of nerve compression issues that probably come from repeated pressure on the radial nerves that run along the outside of your elbows. Plus, if you don't get the height just right you'll shrug your shoulders while you work, which causes another host of issues with neck and back.
Armrests are good--when you can rest your whole forearm on them flat, at rest, with no tension in your shoulders. When you're actually working, may be best to drop them low enough to not be convenient elbow holders though.
In fact, if you can swing it the absolute best position is no armrests at all, or dropped out of the way to seat level (the Embody chair does that too, which I like) and then working w/ keyboard and mouse in your lap instead of on the desk. That'll completely relax your shoulders and keep you from compressing your forearm nerves on anything. When my arms are hurting, I put my keyboard and mouse/trackpad (I use both for different things) on a small portable lapdesk; Logitech makes one that's really light and has a pull-out mouse tray.
Whatever you do, pay attention to the ergos though. You're basically drawing from the "RSI bank" every time you work, whether or not you have any symptoms yet--good habits will get you there slowly, and bad habits will get you there quickly. Make it as slow as possible.
The simplest "people you may know" method is to mine people's contacts when they voluntarily upload them (email, phone, IM, etc.) in a "find my friends" flow. Most of the "holy crap it's my decade-ago ex-girlfriend" style shocks I get are because they still have me in an address book somewhere and they shared it.
Where did you get the idea that the bill was remotely unconstitutional?
It's perfectly constitutional for me to pee in the street. The state can decide it's illegal, and they're within their right to do so.
It's apparently perfectly constitutional for the police to search cell phones without a warrant. The legislature can decide it's illegal, and they're within their right to do so
This is how the system of checks and balances works; the judiciary is checked by the legislature. But in this case they got checked by the executive on their way to the goal. It's all on the up-and-up, but it's one of the more blatant examples of the government attacking civil rights I've seen in quite a while.
I guess the next step is a ballot proposition for a CA constitutional amendment. I'd think this would be a pretty easy one to get passed, unless some people out there really have a compelling interest in having their own phones searched next time they're speeding. Next step after that is not voting for this asshole again.:/
How true it is. You can approach defect-free by testing against clear requirements, but genuine quality has much more to do with decisions than defects.
I wouldn't call it terrible--just low-level. Building on top of it (or finding a package that already has) is the right idea. Re: the grandposter, JS lets you subclass; not sure how much stronger support you might be looking for there.
The biggest problem with MMM is that software developers and architects are the only people who read it. Managers, especially "non technical" project managers have never heard of it, and won't bother to read it and they are the ones who would benefit from it the most.
So, true, so true. I've been in the position multiple times of having to explain why "removing all this useless workteam siloing and hierarchy" or ditching modularization will sink a project. It's really, really difficult to cite a book that came out in the 70s without A) it sounding obsolete and B) making your manager sound like he's an idiot for not having read it yet.
Protip: if your explanation includes the equation "n * (n -1) * 1/2" they will tune out and your argument will not succeed, however mathematically valid it may be.
Judging by the wording of his statement, sounds like Gutheinz's contingent is going for an unjust enrichment argument: basically that the rock may have been abandoned, but that Capt. Anderson had a legal duty to attempt to return it when he recognized the value.
My guess is it'll come down to whether leaving a high-ticket item in the trash as an oversight is considered an affirmative statement of not wanting it anymore or equivalent to losing it on the street.
I'm certainly not anti-intellectual, I learn all the time, probably more so than most college grads do. I'm not anti-academic, either; I respect people's choice to go to college, and I even went for a couple of years myself before deciding that just getting a job coding software was a better path for me.
What I am is against having college forced down someone's throat as the only option, especially when the universities (at least the private schools) are heavily profiting from this attitude. I'm against the idea that you have to be tens or even more than a hundred thousand dollars in personal debt at age 25 to succeed in life. And I'm against a self-perpetuating system of college graduates who think only college graduates could possibly be as skilled as they are and thus artificially inflate the value of the degree.
You absolutely can succeed without college, if you're smart and determined. And if you're an entrepreneur, then getting the hell out on the market is much more valuable than biding your time while learning things that have nothing to do with your dream. Never mind the tuition costs, the opportunity costs to an entrepreneur for waiting are crippling.
And then, if you really want to go to school, go. But only if you really want to do so.
Well, and it's worse. D.A.R.E. in particular is a rather cogent example, because it's an instance of the government pushing a particular policy opinion on children at a very young age in a focused program, something that they already have a vested interest in doing.
Normally, I don't think we'd be inclined to allow the government to influence our children's ethics quite so blatantly; we allow the government to enforce law based on what we think now, but generally frown on it telling us what to think later (current terrorist bullshit being a notable exception). When I was growing up, seems like that was the subject of a half-dozen Cold War era made-for-TV movies, most of which starred Robert Urich.
But that's ignored because of the supposed sure benefit of such programs. And the truth is, everyone more or less agrees that it's effective at doing *something*, whether for better or for worse. That means they agree the government is, in fact, directly influencing (a.k.a indoctrinating, by definition) children, so it can only really be that supposed tradeoff that makes it OK.
Point is that once you believe in a fallacious problem, any number of solutions can be raised to "fix" it. Unless you've actually established that the problem exists and that the fix is appropriate, the fix that gets pushed the hardest is likely going to be the one that most benefits the fixer. It's rather unlikely you'll come out on top in that deal.
Depends. TJX doesn't exactly cater to the technically-knowledgeable crowd in particular. Sony straddles that line: yes, the consumer electronics have a broad appeal, but they have significant markets in high-end computers, youth who are reasonably tech-knowledgeable by way of mainstreamed geek culture, early-adopter products like their ebook readers, and so forth.
These people are more likely to get an idea of just how big of a fuckup this was, especially since it's getting plenty of press. Moreover, eventually this press is going to start touching on the past Sony controversies regarding DRM rootkitting and possibly even something as niche as the OtherOS removal they just got spanked for in Finland. Even if people don't fully understand those issues, they'll get the idea that Sony has an increasingly long history of negative results for their consumer, whether out of malice or incompetence.
The youth thing is going to be the killer, IMO, if there is one. If someone in the 25-40 set sours on Sony now, all their disposable income goes to someone else. That's potentially decades of lost revenue.
Glass is fairly impervious to reasonable wear. But still, what's wrong with using a cover? The one on my iPad doesn't make it less functional or portable.
While this visit to the Argument Clinic is entertaining, you really can't download it gratis if you're just part of the Apple Developer Program. You need to specifically be subscribed into either Mac or iOS dev programs (i.e. the $99/yr subs). Either that, or the website is flat-out lying to me when I log in with my Apple ID and go to http://developer.apple.com/xcode/ . For me, that page tells me I'm not eligible, upsells me to the paid programs, and refers me to the App Store otherwise.
If you saw other behavior, perhaps there was a glitch while they switched over, it's different for outside the US, or some other variance.
9% is across all industries. Tech sector is lower, maybe 6%, probably less.
Moreover, tech unemployment is heavily balanced towards the low end of the job market. It's hard to get an entry-level or low/intermediate position. It's not particularly hard at to find a job right now if you're talented, have some experience, and can swing an interview. It does help to be somewhere tech-heavy, but if you have accomplishments there are remote positions available as well. You just need to look harder to find them and expect a higher bar.
I do hope you get what you want out of this, but I'll put it this way: the first time you start feeling like maybe this is having a deleterious effect on your life, you owe it to yourself to -at least- brush up a LinkedIn profile, then throw a resume or two out there and see what happens. Promises are great and all, but it's a business arrangement. If it becomes good business to get rid of you, they will. You have almost no influence on them after the fact, so you need to favor negotiating up front and judging in the short-term.
Re:The only question I have is
on
Firefox 4 Beta 8 Up
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· Score: 5, Informative
There's more than one type of libertarianism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geolibertarianism posits that unrenewable resources like land or spectrum should not be owned, and rent for occupying such should be paid back to the people. I personally favor an exponential scale such that the more you use, the vastly more rent you pay.
Assuming that he donated via credit card, the OP may want to consider very carefully whether it's wise to call his bank and inform them he used his credit in that way...especially if it's issued by Citibank. Right or not, they can close the account for any reason.
OK, it's physical in the sense everything is physical, but that doesn't mean it's a direct product of the connective structure of the brain as is observable or reproducible with anything close to modern technology. For example, it's very difficult to reproduce a chaotic system in such a way that it duplicates another chaotic system (assuming they're not algorithmically created--don't wave a Mandelbrot set at me in response:).
In particular, if thought is essentially a series of quantum effects--and human consciousness being apparently non-deterministic, that seems entirely plausible--it may take a very specific configuration of very specific elements in a very specific chemical environment to produce an identical gestalt. I'm not sure we have any reason to believe a simulation could get anywhere near, any more than we can effectively simulate the operation of a Porsche by modeling the individual quarks that comprise it (car analogy, ergo sum.)
Say you buy a car. You can drive safely, or you can run people over; your choice. Just because you can run people over, however, doesn't mean that cars should be illegal
Unless, apparently, if you promote them for the purposes of running over people. Somehow, I envision this as a Ford/Mike Rowe commercial.
Slashdot Mirror
This. I never touch paper media anymore. I do read Kindle books; study Wikipedia as well as a number of other primary and secondary sources; read, listen to, and watch the news from several different regions and countries; stay more current in my hobbies than magazines ever let me; and even subscribe to a few traditionally dead-tree magazines in electronic format because I like their editorial style. I'm considerably more broad than I ever was with paper.
As far as lowering study scores, sure. Studying more often than not--or at least the easily testable type--involves a crapload of rote memorization. You know what's not particularly important anymore now that you can look just about anything up on your phone? Rote memorization.
OTOH, I bet these kids are a hell of a lot better than I ever will be at knowing how to find relevant information and benefit from easy access to the work of others. And for the benefit of others, they'll contribute what they want to and are able to as well. In fact, they'll be able to contribute that much more that's novel because they're not wasting their time and brainspace memorizing other people's knowledge for lack of a good way to have it at hand.
Speaking as an adult who wasn't diagnosed with or treated for "nonexistent" ADHD until 39, in no small part because his parents bought into the absolutely bullshit line of crap you're spouting when his teachers pointed it out at age six:
Fuck you.
Your other points may be valid, but your straw man is so deeply offensive that I can't possibly absorb them.
He doesn't move. He is completely fixated on the screen. He needs me to make several attempts before his attention is diverted from the screen. He can look away breifly to talk to you but is trying to glance back at the screen.
We have no TV service and no occasion for him to watch TV. We do have a small handful of movies we let him watch occasionally.
These two things could be related. I realize you're not a strict "no watching anything" household, but if TV is rare enough to him it will be supremely interesting when it is there.
Not speaking as a parent here, so take with as much salt as one needs, but I suspect giving a child something else to be interested in is just as important as enforcing moderation in things like TV, games, whatnot. Sounds like you do that. I also commend the attention you're plainly giving your child.
A lot of parents seem to just yank the TV because it's "evil", throw the kid a book, then wonder why it doesn't work out. I think anything can be made into a constructive backdrop for an interactive activity. Even books can make a lousy passive babysitter, especially for kids who for whatever reason don't end up loving reading.
To your direct question, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaprogramming -- we're getting there.
There are a number of ways that artificial-intelligence-like routines have directly improved your life, particularly if you've recently listened to Pandora or shopped "related items" at Amazon. Association is one of the core qualities of intelligence. Without knowing the specific algorithms involved, my guess is that some of the closed-loop optimizations in powertrains and similar self-adjusting systems may also have gotten some benefit as well.
We still code in text because we've tried a number of other things and--for humans--text is largely superior for everything except UI layout.
If you only define computing by the interfaces, what you're going to butt up against isn't computing's limitations, but ours.
I'm pushing 40, and getting into the range where ergo issues come up more than I'd like--have occasional RSI issues in my arms and wrists, and my back and neck aren't quite as forgiving as they used to be.
One thing that's worked well for me was moving to Herman Miller Embody chairs at both work and home. I'm not necessarily recommending that exact model. I like them, but the styling is unusual and they're pricy if you don't find a good discount somewhere (hint, ask if you can arrange to piggyback on your work's furniture orders so you get volume discount. I got mine for ~$700 with warranty intact).
What makes them good, though, is that they're built to move around with you so you can fidget properly. The back is built like a spine that flexes, they're shaped to let your shoulders swing back while sitting, there's just enough side-to-side give under the seat to let you shift your weight meaningfully without feeling like it's unstable, etc. Working with the tension settings also lets you find a sweet spot where you're suspended at a proper ~110deg recline by spring tension so you can use your legs to move you forward and back with no effort, which encourages you to flex them. It's no replacement for getting up and walking around, but it keeps you from getting locked into one position and that helps hugely.
I'm sure there are other and probably less expensive chairs out there that give you the same freedom of movement while providing some level of back support. Finding one may make a big difference.
But...beware of armrests. Someone above me mentioned resting the elbow of their mousing hand. Yeah, seems like a good idea, feels better in the short term, did it from the beginning of my hardcore computing career. 20 years later, I've got all kinds of nerve compression issues that probably come from repeated pressure on the radial nerves that run along the outside of your elbows. Plus, if you don't get the height just right you'll shrug your shoulders while you work, which causes another host of issues with neck and back.
Armrests are good--when you can rest your whole forearm on them flat, at rest, with no tension in your shoulders. When you're actually working, may be best to drop them low enough to not be convenient elbow holders though.
In fact, if you can swing it the absolute best position is no armrests at all, or dropped out of the way to seat level (the Embody chair does that too, which I like) and then working w/ keyboard and mouse in your lap instead of on the desk. That'll completely relax your shoulders and keep you from compressing your forearm nerves on anything. When my arms are hurting, I put my keyboard and mouse/trackpad (I use both for different things) on a small portable lapdesk; Logitech makes one that's really light and has a pull-out mouse tray.
Whatever you do, pay attention to the ergos though. You're basically drawing from the "RSI bank" every time you work, whether or not you have any symptoms yet--good habits will get you there slowly, and bad habits will get you there quickly. Make it as slow as possible.
The simplest "people you may know" method is to mine people's contacts when they voluntarily upload them (email, phone, IM, etc.) in a "find my friends" flow. Most of the "holy crap it's my decade-ago ex-girlfriend" style shocks I get are because they still have me in an address book somewhere and they shared it.
...or, reading further, the legislative override. That's actually heartening news to be reminded of that check.
Where did you get the idea that the bill was remotely unconstitutional?
It's perfectly constitutional for me to pee in the street. The state can decide it's illegal, and they're within their right to do so.
It's apparently perfectly constitutional for the police to search cell phones without a warrant. The legislature can decide it's illegal, and they're within their right to do so
This is how the system of checks and balances works; the judiciary is checked by the legislature. But in this case they got checked by the executive on their way to the goal. It's all on the up-and-up, but it's one of the more blatant examples of the government attacking civil rights I've seen in quite a while.
I guess the next step is a ballot proposition for a CA constitutional amendment. I'd think this would be a pretty easy one to get passed, unless some people out there really have a compelling interest in having their own phones searched next time they're speeding. Next step after that is not voting for this asshole again. :/
How true it is. You can approach defect-free by testing against clear requirements, but genuine quality has much more to do with decisions than defects.
I wouldn't call it terrible--just low-level. Building on top of it (or finding a package that already has) is the right idea. Re: the grandposter, JS lets you subclass; not sure how much stronger support you might be looking for there.
The biggest problem with MMM is that software developers and architects are the only people who read it. Managers, especially "non technical" project managers have never heard of it, and won't bother to read it and they are the ones who would benefit from it the most.
So, true, so true. I've been in the position multiple times of having to explain why "removing all this useless workteam siloing and hierarchy" or ditching modularization will sink a project. It's really, really difficult to cite a book that came out in the 70s without A) it sounding obsolete and B) making your manager sound like he's an idiot for not having read it yet.
Protip: if your explanation includes the equation "n * (n -1) * 1/2" they will tune out and your argument will not succeed, however mathematically valid it may be.
Judging by the wording of his statement, sounds like Gutheinz's contingent is going for an unjust enrichment argument: basically that the rock may have been abandoned, but that Capt. Anderson had a legal duty to attempt to return it when he recognized the value.
My guess is it'll come down to whether leaving a high-ticket item in the trash as an oversight is considered an affirmative statement of not wanting it anymore or equivalent to losing it on the street.
Free as in "free flow," not as in "free beer"?
I'm certainly not anti-intellectual, I learn all the time, probably more so than most college grads do. I'm not anti-academic, either; I respect people's choice to go to college, and I even went for a couple of years myself before deciding that just getting a job coding software was a better path for me.
What I am is against having college forced down someone's throat as the only option, especially when the universities (at least the private schools) are heavily profiting from this attitude. I'm against the idea that you have to be tens or even more than a hundred thousand dollars in personal debt at age 25 to succeed in life. And I'm against a self-perpetuating system of college graduates who think only college graduates could possibly be as skilled as they are and thus artificially inflate the value of the degree.
You absolutely can succeed without college, if you're smart and determined. And if you're an entrepreneur, then getting the hell out on the market is much more valuable than biding your time while learning things that have nothing to do with your dream. Never mind the tuition costs, the opportunity costs to an entrepreneur for waiting are crippling.
And then, if you really want to go to school, go. But only if you really want to do so.
Well, and it's worse. D.A.R.E. in particular is a rather cogent example, because it's an instance of the government pushing a particular policy opinion on children at a very young age in a focused program, something that they already have a vested interest in doing.
Normally, I don't think we'd be inclined to allow the government to influence our children's ethics quite so blatantly; we allow the government to enforce law based on what we think now, but generally frown on it telling us what to think later (current terrorist bullshit being a notable exception). When I was growing up, seems like that was the subject of a half-dozen Cold War era made-for-TV movies, most of which starred Robert Urich.
But that's ignored because of the supposed sure benefit of such programs. And the truth is, everyone more or less agrees that it's effective at doing *something*, whether for better or for worse. That means they agree the government is, in fact, directly influencing (a.k.a indoctrinating, by definition) children, so it can only really be that supposed tradeoff that makes it OK.
Point is that once you believe in a fallacious problem, any number of solutions can be raised to "fix" it. Unless you've actually established that the problem exists and that the fix is appropriate, the fix that gets pushed the hardest is likely going to be the one that most benefits the fixer. It's rather unlikely you'll come out on top in that deal.
Depends. TJX doesn't exactly cater to the technically-knowledgeable crowd in particular. Sony straddles that line: yes, the consumer electronics have a broad appeal, but they have significant markets in high-end computers, youth who are reasonably tech-knowledgeable by way of mainstreamed geek culture, early-adopter products like their ebook readers, and so forth.
These people are more likely to get an idea of just how big of a fuckup this was, especially since it's getting plenty of press. Moreover, eventually this press is going to start touching on the past Sony controversies regarding DRM rootkitting and possibly even something as niche as the OtherOS removal they just got spanked for in Finland. Even if people don't fully understand those issues, they'll get the idea that Sony has an increasingly long history of negative results for their consumer, whether out of malice or incompetence.
The youth thing is going to be the killer, IMO, if there is one. If someone in the 25-40 set sours on Sony now, all their disposable income goes to someone else. That's potentially decades of lost revenue.
Glass is fairly impervious to reasonable wear. But still, what's wrong with using a cover? The one on my iPad doesn't make it less functional or portable.
While this visit to the Argument Clinic is entertaining, you really can't download it gratis if you're just part of the Apple Developer Program. You need to specifically be subscribed into either Mac or iOS dev programs (i.e. the $99/yr subs). Either that, or the website is flat-out lying to me when I log in with my Apple ID and go to http://developer.apple.com/xcode/ . For me, that page tells me I'm not eligible, upsells me to the paid programs, and refers me to the App Store otherwise.
If you saw other behavior, perhaps there was a glitch while they switched over, it's different for outside the US, or some other variance.
9% is across all industries. Tech sector is lower, maybe 6%, probably less.
Moreover, tech unemployment is heavily balanced towards the low end of the job market. It's hard to get an entry-level or low/intermediate position. It's not particularly hard at to find a job right now if you're talented, have some experience, and can swing an interview. It does help to be somewhere tech-heavy, but if you have accomplishments there are remote positions available as well. You just need to look harder to find them and expect a higher bar.
I do hope you get what you want out of this, but I'll put it this way: the first time you start feeling like maybe this is having a deleterious effect on your life, you owe it to yourself to -at least- brush up a LinkedIn profile, then throw a resume or two out there and see what happens. Promises are great and all, but it's a business arrangement. If it becomes good business to get rid of you, they will. You have almost no influence on them after the fact, so you need to favor negotiating up front and judging in the short-term.
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/asa/archives/2010/10/are_we_fast_yet.html
That benchmark is a bit old (two months ago), but you get the idea.
There's more than one type of libertarianism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geolibertarianism posits that unrenewable resources like land or spectrum should not be owned, and rent for occupying such should be paid back to the people. I personally favor an exponential scale such that the more you use, the vastly more rent you pay.
Assuming that he donated via credit card, the OP may want to consider very carefully whether it's wise to call his bank and inform them he used his credit in that way...especially if it's issued by Citibank. Right or not, they can close the account for any reason.
OK, it's physical in the sense everything is physical, but that doesn't mean it's a direct product of the connective structure of the brain as is observable or reproducible with anything close to modern technology. For example, it's very difficult to reproduce a chaotic system in such a way that it duplicates another chaotic system (assuming they're not algorithmically created--don't wave a Mandelbrot set at me in response :).
In particular, if thought is essentially a series of quantum effects--and human consciousness being apparently non-deterministic, that seems entirely plausible--it may take a very specific configuration of very specific elements in a very specific chemical environment to produce an identical gestalt. I'm not sure we have any reason to believe a simulation could get anywhere near, any more than we can effectively simulate the operation of a Porsche by modeling the individual quarks that comprise it (car analogy, ergo sum.)
I was going to comment that she surely was the first robot stage actor, but wiki tells me Keanu played Mercutio in high school.
Say you buy a car. You can drive safely, or you can run people over; your choice. Just because you can run people over, however, doesn't mean that cars should be illegal
Unless, apparently, if you promote them for the purposes of running over people. Somehow, I envision this as a Ford/Mike Rowe commercial.