When the government passes a law mandating all cameras have to be digital,
all digital footage has to be kept forever, and connected to a government face
recognition system, then I'll be concerned.
As it stands most footage is erased after a month, and is stored on hundreds
of individual unconnected systems. Hardly Big Brother.
I agree that WHILST they are unconnected, we don't have much to worry about.
But I'd like to point out that this same government is introducing a compulsory
national database to keep track of your suspicious activities, containing your
photograph, fingerprints and a unique National Identity Number which corporations
can use to link up every bit of information about you already stored on computer
(banking, phone, internet & shopping records).
Whilst the USA at least has an individual's freedom protected by their Constitution,
this government is also proposing to bypass its own Data Protection and Freedom
of Information Acts to introduce this database. Needless to say, the government's
own
watchdogs are horrified.
This same government is also granting police powers to take DNA samples from
you without you ever knowing. How long before the technology is available
to track people's movements through these CCTV cameras?
One difference between logic & emotions is that people can usually train their
logic. If you had equally fine control over your emotions, then they wouldn't
be primitive.
First thing to realise is that we aren't getting rid of our emotions... unless
you want a brain surgeon to hack out your amygdala but then you'd end up shagging
pavements.
Anyone who uses a PDA knows that computers are already better at organising
our lives than we are. As soon as somebody writes the software, they'll
be better at making decisions for us too. Within 50 or so years, we'll
be obsolete.
The only alternatives that I know of are neural implant and emotion-tuning
technologies. The latter are already here, just not primetime yet.
When I turn my head to look at something, my eyes are going to look in
the same direction. It's just natural. It's unnatural to turn your head to look
at something, and keep your eyes fixed dead ahead.
Anyone here familiar with bidding on eBay at the last minute?
The further off an auction is, the less likely we are to watch it (and consequently forget about it). The sooner it is, the more frequently we're likely to check it.
Hack out a bit of your brain and (rhinal cortex) and you'll start checking the auction every 10 seconds even if it's several hours off.
Or simply inject that part of your brain with a D2 inhibitor gene and you'll likewise become an auction zombie, but only temporarily (11-19 weeks for monkeys).
After that time, a second gene injection will make you a slow auction zombie. You still check it regardless of timing, but much less often (same amount of effort as normal). Congratulations, you're still lazy.
People aren't born leaving things until the last minute. They learn to live that way because they make short-term decisions based on HOW THEY FEEL (those feelings can be based on logic or pseudologic).
The consequences of leaving things until the last minute rarely changes the pattern of how we feel as the next deadline approaches.
Deadline... the word itself tells us how to behave.
Why does everyone assume that brain surgery is difficult? You give local anaesthetic, displace a bit of their skull & dura, make sure the bits you want to cut out don't do anything really useful (ask the patient) and then cut & sew.
I don't have any mod points, so I'll just agree with you. Flash cards are ideal storage for players: multiple 512MB ones should be sufficient. As soon as they work with Ogg Vorbis and don't cost as much as a 2nd hand car, I'll buy one.
... unless they're produced by an independent research company. In my field (UK hypnotherapy), anyone who DOESN'T phone/write back to complain is considered a success. And so therapists report success of 90% when they're really achieving about 20%.
Re:Religion IS escapism
on
Game with God
·
· Score: 1
AFAIK, this is more or less what Jesus taught: That heaven is a state of mind, experienced when you've got past all your major issues and are at peace with yourself.
Iraq was in breach of several UN resolutions throughout the 90s. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were being murdered and yet the UN did not act, nor did it ever look likely to. The UN has an arbitrary power structure. 5 countries with very different political agendas can and do veto any resolution they want.
The UN commission has been proven to be corrupt.
I think we need a UN but what has it's current implementation actually achieved?
There is a much bigger plot. Not a great plot by any means but it is there.
The One is software. Neo is at least the 2nd One, but there may have been 5 before him. A previous One is the Merovingian (who can also see/manipulate code). The Oracle's bodyguard is also from an earlier Matrix, apparent because of his orange code.
Neo is also human, or at least starts off that way. How Neo comes to be The One (maybe in the same way the Agents take over people in the Matrix) and develops his real-life powers is open for discussion.
Another unanswered question is why the Machines keep humans alive in the first place. Either we accept the stupid battery idea else realise that humans innately provide some other resource the machines find valuable. Remember there are 3 parallel pipes leading to the Machine City.
One other question is why the Architect has to give Neo the choice of saving Trinity in Reloaded. Choice is a big factor in all the films (remember the video screens too - parallel universes?)
The Oracle was created (by the Architect?) to solve the equation (end the war). She isn't omniscient but does understand humans in a way that the Architect doesn't. Somehow The Oracle gained independence.
Smith calls The Oracle "Mother" in Revolutions. Maybe she created all the Agents? Smith loses his job after being 'killed' by Neo in Matrix. Whether this is because he was 'changed' and able to replicate himself I don't know.
According to Schwarzkopf, the Iraqi Army made a similar mistake in the Gulf War and left the western Iraqi border relatively undefended (they were occupying Kuwait at the time). Had the Iraqis defended better, US casualties could have been unpalatable for the US public and world politics would now look very different indeed.
Language is processed (especially in us guys) by the left brain. Harmony & melody is processed by the right brain.
My guess is that most people process context with the left brain (since we are too lazy to learn something twice), but those who appreciate atonal music have learnt more flexible ways of appreciating context.
For me, the best music sets up those patterns and breaks them in artistic ways.
Also: Choose your advisors carefully. Take the time to find out what's REALLY important to you. What's likely to maintain your interest in the long term?
KOTOR worked out of the box for me, has never crashed, isn't slow (except switching between areas), has beautiful graphics, excellent realistic dialogue & a wonderful story line.
There are some bugs still and the Taris part of the game can be dull. Apart from that, very enjoyable. Oh yeah, play as Dark Side for most fun.
If you're including security with stability, then Win2k is more secure
than WinXP (pre-SP2). After all, it can be connected to the internet and not
get exploited while booting...
Oh? What changed?
I installed a Win2k box for a friend but couldn't find my firewall software.
Was surprised it wasn't hit by Sasser (or Blaster) when I finally got back to it... considering it was connected
8+ hours a day.
Slashdot Mirror
Q: After "Episode III," will you ever revisit "Star Wars"?
LUCAS: Ultimately, I'm going to probably move it into television and let other people take it.
Clickable link
As it stands most footage is erased after a month, and is stored on hundreds of individual unconnected systems. Hardly Big Brother.
I agree that WHILST they are unconnected, we don't have much to worry about.
But I'd like to point out that this same government is introducing a compulsory national database to keep track of your suspicious activities, containing your photograph, fingerprints and a unique National Identity Number which corporations can use to link up every bit of information about you already stored on computer (banking, phone, internet & shopping records).
Whilst the USA at least has an individual's freedom protected by their Constitution, this government is also proposing to bypass its own Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts to introduce this database. Needless to say, the government's own watchdogs are horrified.
This same government is also granting police powers to take DNA samples from you without you ever knowing. How long before the technology is available to track people's movements through these CCTV cameras?
At what point will you become concerned?
First thing to realise is that we aren't getting rid of our emotions... unless you want a brain surgeon to hack out your amygdala but then you'd end up shagging pavements.
Anyone who uses a PDA knows that computers are already better at organising our lives than we are. As soon as somebody writes the software, they'll be better at making decisions for us too. Within 50 or so years, we'll be obsolete.
The only alternatives that I know of are neural implant and emotion-tuning technologies. The latter are already here, just not primetime yet.
Archos Gmini400 - CNET Review
When I turn my head to look at something, my eyes are going to look in the same direction. It's just natural. It's unnatural to turn your head to look at something, and keep your eyes fixed dead ahead.
Ever tried nodding or shaking your head?
What else could it be determined by...? That doesn't have a basis in physics or chemistry.
But the real issue is what effects do concepts such as personal responsibility have on the brain and consequently on behaviour.
Anyone here familiar with bidding on eBay at the last minute?
The further off an auction is, the less likely we are to watch it (and consequently forget about it). The sooner it is, the more frequently we're likely to check it.
Hack out a bit of your brain and (rhinal cortex) and you'll start checking the auction every 10 seconds even if it's several hours off.
Or simply inject that part of your brain with a D2 inhibitor gene and you'll likewise become an auction zombie, but only temporarily (11-19 weeks for monkeys).
After that time, a second gene injection will make you a slow auction zombie. You still check it regardless of timing, but much less often (same amount of effort as normal). Congratulations, you're still lazy.
People aren't born leaving things until the last minute. They learn to live that way because they make short-term decisions based on HOW THEY FEEL (those feelings can be based on logic or pseudologic).
The consequences of leaving things until the last minute rarely changes the pattern of how we feel as the next deadline approaches.
Deadline... the word itself tells us how to behave.
Why does everyone assume that brain surgery is difficult? You give local anaesthetic, displace a bit of their skull & dura, make sure the bits you want to cut out don't do anything really useful (ask the patient) and then cut & sew.
Rocket science OTOH - wouldn't have a clue.
I don't have any mod points, so I'll just agree with you. Flash cards are ideal storage for players: multiple 512MB ones should be sufficient. As soon as they work with Ogg Vorbis and don't cost as much as a 2nd hand car, I'll buy one.
My next device will need:
equivalent convenience of organiser functions
(video) camera
phone
MP3 player
input device/bluetooth
backlight
Does this mean your eyes adjusted to keep you short-sigted?
Wearing contacts allows me to chop onions without crying. Shame I'm not a chef.
Aureal were bought out by Creative, which ended the vastly superior 3D sound system that Aureal was trying to establish.
... unless they're produced by an independent research company. In my field (UK hypnotherapy), anyone who DOESN'T phone/write back to complain is considered a success. And so therapists report success of 90% when they're really achieving about 20%.
AFAIK, this is more or less what Jesus taught:
That heaven is a state of mind, experienced when you've got past all your major issues and are at peace with yourself.
Iraq was in breach of several UN resolutions throughout the 90s. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were being murdered and yet the UN did not act, nor did it ever look likely to.
The UN has an arbitrary power structure. 5 countries with very different political agendas can and do veto any resolution they want.
The UN commission has been proven to be corrupt.
I think we need a UN but what has it's current implementation actually achieved?
There is a much bigger plot. Not a great plot by any means but it is there.
The One is software. Neo is at least the 2nd One, but there may have been 5 before him. A previous One is the Merovingian (who can also see/manipulate code). The Oracle's bodyguard is also from an earlier Matrix, apparent because of his orange code.
Neo is also human, or at least starts off that way. How Neo comes to be The One (maybe in the same way the Agents take over people in the Matrix) and develops his real-life powers is open for discussion.
Another unanswered question is why the Machines keep humans alive in the first place. Either we accept the stupid battery idea else realise that humans innately provide some other resource the machines find valuable. Remember there are 3 parallel pipes leading to the Machine City.
One other question is why the Architect has to give Neo the choice of saving Trinity in Reloaded. Choice is a big factor in all the films (remember the video screens too - parallel universes?)
The Oracle was created (by the Architect?) to solve the equation (end the war). She isn't omniscient but does understand humans in a way that the Architect doesn't.
Somehow The Oracle gained independence.
Smith calls The Oracle "Mother" in Revolutions. Maybe she created all the Agents? Smith loses his job after being 'killed' by Neo in Matrix. Whether this is because he was 'changed' and able to replicate himself I don't know.
According to Schwarzkopf, the Iraqi Army made a similar mistake in the Gulf War and left the western Iraqi border relatively undefended (they were occupying Kuwait at the time). Had the Iraqis defended better, US casualties could have been unpalatable for the US public and world politics would now look very different indeed.
Language is processed (especially in us guys) by the left brain. Harmony & melody is processed by the right brain.
My guess is that most people process context with the left brain (since we are too lazy to learn something twice), but those who appreciate atonal music have learnt more flexible ways of appreciating context.
For me, the best music sets up those patterns and breaks them in artistic ways.
Great posts.
Also:
Choose your advisors carefully.
Take the time to find out what's REALLY important to you. What's likely to maintain your interest in the long term?
So you've got driver problems. Big deal.
KOTOR worked out of the box for me, has never crashed, isn't slow (except switching between areas), has beautiful graphics, excellent realistic dialogue & a wonderful story line.
There are some bugs still and the Taris part of the game can be dull. Apart from that, very enjoyable. Oh yeah, play as Dark Side for most fun.
If you're including security with stability, then Win2k is more secure than WinXP (pre-SP2). After all, it can be connected to the internet and not get exploited while booting...
Oh? What changed?
I installed a Win2k box for a friend but couldn't find my firewall software. Was surprised it wasn't hit by Sasser (or Blaster) when I finally got back to it... considering it was connected 8+ hours a day.
I'm not sure if I understood you correctly, but old age is DUE to mutations.
As far as cleaning up DNA/RNA errors, you need some kind of ability to compare with error-free DNA.
Guess where your error-free DNA is...
Who modded this Funny? I was tempted to mod it down from +5 just so I could mod it up again as Informative.