As an Aussie, I will second that. From the odd discussion I have had here on slashdot the costs to me are about half of what someone in the US would pay for similar "world class" health care, and for that price I am also providing cover to about half a dozen non-taxpayers.
We may have problems with our 30yr old system but bankruptcy/death from health-care and medicine costs are not amoung them.
Disclaimer: Even though I would "save money" I refuse to take out the extra private cover (it DOES NOT give you better medical care but it will pay for a private room or silicone tits). I willingly pay the extra 1% since I know it goes to health care for someone less fortunate and not some fat-cat's profit margin. The system saved my son's life in the 80's, at the time I was classified as "working poor" and it certainly saved my family from bankruptcy.
Orbital calculations are computationally simpler than climate calculations since the parameters are fewer and have a higher level of certainty. However both models use the same mathematical technique (sometimes called finite-element-analysis).
"No, it doesn't become a chaotic system at all. Orbital mechanics and climate simulations are, no pun intended, worlds apart."
Check again and you might find some "worlds" are closer than you think.
There is no precise solution for more than two objects because once you add a third body it becomes a chaotic system. The n-body calculations are done with brute force in the same way as the much maligned climate simulations.
I have no argument with that, all I am saying is that IMO wind is underrated but I will concede it depends what monetary value you put on CO2 emmissions. I certainly agree that looking around the planet indicates "the industrial revolution" is failing miserably in the gardening department. We need to "fix that" simply because that is what our species does, even if our tinkering leads to our extinction we are driven to control our environment simply because that is how our species got it's unlikely position at top of the food chain with no major predators other than ourselves. Perhaps "technology" is just a cosmic flash in the pan that occasionally pops up on a random planet and dissapears just as quickly, it would explain why we are still waiting for ET to gives us a call.
As for towers there has been a lot of work done figuring out optimal sizes for the individual mills and individual farms. You can see the trend with the most recent projects using the largest mills. There's a lot more politics tied up with nuclear power but I think the pebble bed idea is a good one. Solar cells should be covering the rooftops of the suburbs but OTOH, most developed countries with reasonable daylight conditions have started to offer some pork to install them.
As for what can go wrong when digging holes in the Earth, we learn by our mistakes and modern landscaping such as levees, surge gates, ect have saved more lives than have been lost digging holes. Finally non of this means that Exonn are not total pricks.
"Nobody knew about the carbon dioxide issues till they were already affecting things."
Truth is that until recently nobody listen to the guy who predicted it over 100yrs ago.
You seem out of date on the economics of wind technology - each time the globally installed base of windmills doubles the cost per windmill drops by 15%. The CSIRO has been telling Australia that it is "doable" since the 90's, politicians have been saying essentially what you have just said mainly because they do not want to lose centralised generation, thus the taxpayer's "green money" is thrown at a fiscal fantasy called "clean coal".
"Dry rock systems it seems, can cause earthquakes."
Any type of mining/drilling activity can trigger quakes by lubricating a fault line.
I have no interest in getting "mallrats wet", my own kids are older than your average "mallrat" so it's safe to say I don't see them in the same light as you do Mr. Boner. My age may also be the reason why I have no fucking idea what skull rings have to do with Pink Floyd?
No, the CSIRO has been working on this for over 10yrs that I know of and it is different to the Iceland plants. All you need for the heat is a large chunk of granite the hard part is pumping the water through the "wells". Most of the other plants I have heard of started with the water in place naturally.
Also wind is very viable provided you have you farms spread around the country, smaller nations may have a problem with "no wind" but nations like the US, Canada, Australia with their large land mass are ideal for wind generation.
"Human nature in the western culture, you mean. IIRC American Indians, many African cultures, and even our old agricultural society were much respectful of the environment."
Slash and burn will not feed 6,000,000,000 people! The "cultural revolution" you are suggesting has already been tried by China and was found wanting (for food mainly).
"Instead scientific and technological development didn't need to victimize the environment, or replace spirituality, or try to replace religion."
So exactly what would you like to throw out, since throwing out ALL "scientific and technological development" (ie:ideas and tools) put's humans somewhere below birds on the eveloutionary tree of brain-power?
"And until recently, that's what "medicine" and "science" thought was the case with the young man in the story.
"
No, and why is it that many people automatically assume that "anything is possible" given enough time. People in that type of coma are known to wake up after months, even years, but medicine has not found much in the way of a reliable way to wake them up. He had "moments" where he was consious of his surroundings so the sugreons knew he was capable of responding when they tickled the right neurons. If the nerons are dead from lack of blood/oxygen, nothing short of resurection technology will bring them back and as the GP pointed out this would probably mean the patients "life" would start from scratch.
Besides if "medicine" and "science" thought it was impossible then why did they bother trying it out on this guy?
I wouldn't read much into the three year thing, that's pretty much standard all over the western world. Over here in Australia it's got more to do with the 3yr depretiation of PC's for tax purposes than the 3mth - 1yr warranties.
"It's impossible that he served on the board and made the deal with the company because he believes in the product?"
In his position "the right thing to do" is excuse himself from the deal making process regardless of what he thinks about the company or it's products.
"I'm pretty sure that nobody gets graded on how good their searches are."
Contrary to popular opinion a respectable degree does not simply cram as many facts into your head as will fit. A university degree is supposed to give one the skills to find known answers to a question, any question!
"If the problem is the police might mis-use it, then your problem isn't with CCTV but the police."
Well said, that is the problem in a nutshell. Public cameras are an extra eye in a PUBLIC area, under the current regime these cameras also watch the police and in fact help to keep everyone honest, they have as much to do with "1984" as video-phones and the fear of rats. If the voters are stupid enough to install a "1984" style government then CCTV will be the least of their problems.
I dare any of the "1984" conspiracy theorists to give one REAL LIFE example of these cameras being misused in the UK.
I think the story had more to do with politics & society than it did technology. I thought the rules thing was a metaphor for blind obedience to the ten commandments (or any other finite set of laws/rules). The story uses robots to represent indoctrinated humans in the "underclass" that suddenly start thinking for themselves.
OTOH: There are probably as many interpretations as there are fans.
I belive you have misread the GP, I think you missed the "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" parabole[sic?]. From an Aussie/UK point of view US prosecuters seem more interested in plea bargains than they say, a sound case against the person who is on trial. I understand deals are made to save money and court time in all three countries but that should not be the first concern of the DPP. Once "justice" has been seen to be done then the DPP can start haggling about the price tag.
It should be difficult to put a citizen in jail and impossible to seek state sponsored revenge through executions, but to an outsider (like me) it sometimes appears to be a dutch auction where they start at "life or death" and work down until the guy in the orange suit cracks. Not trying to be offensive here but do prosecuters in the US get a "job rating" based on some measure of "success"?
"As a Canadian, the FBI is as important to me as the RCMP is to Americans."
Yeah we get FBI warnings in Australia and they are similarly meaningless. What pisses me off the most is that these rude (and largely hollow) threats are always attached to media I PAY FOR. They hijack my DVD and even in the fucking theater I have to PAY FOR and sit through someone lecturing me with "the FBI will get you if you don't watch out" - what's next - make us all stand up for the FBI like we used to do in the 60's to "god save the queen".
It's not the warning itself I object to, or even the hyperbole contained within, but the fact that their ogliopoloy makes it such that( like the guy in clockwork orange with his eyelids wired open) I am "forced" to watch their bullshit "message".
I don't think google will try and claim their system is foolproof, I think they will claim it's as good as what the cops do with real fingerprints. I think they will will claim it enforces "fair use" and if the complainant is not happy with the automated "fair use" they still have the right to serve a "takedown notice". I'm sure they will also point out that real fingerprints are auto-matched on patrial information, and will claim this be done by google taking a few random hash strings and using it as the partial information.
If they have put any of those genius developers they have been hiring to good use they will challenge their oppnents to test the system under court supervision. Goes without saying that the system shown to the court will be a "beta version".
Both good ideas (and not just for the US), your post reminds me of something I saw on TV, after the fall of the Taliban a BBC(?) reporter was interviewing a female refugee whose village had been destroyed in fighting.
Reporter: "Will things get better now that the Taliban have gone and the N.Alliance has taken control of this area?"
Refugee: "The Taliban ask questions and shoot. The N. Alliance shoot and ask questions." (paraphrased)
Come to think of it a refund would probably be reasonably easy to obtain at the movies. I was just reacting to the mention of a rock concert. Maybe if the "abusive" part meant being strip searched at gunpoint the I could see the need for some intesive counseling on a pacific island paradise, but that's not what happened - $60K really is over the top.
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As an Aussie, I will second that. From the odd discussion I have had here on slashdot the costs to me are about half of what someone in the US would pay for similar "world class" health care, and for that price I am also providing cover to about half a dozen non-taxpayers.
We may have problems with our 30yr old system but bankruptcy/death from health-care and medicine costs are not amoung them.
Disclaimer: Even though I would "save money" I refuse to take out the extra private cover (it DOES NOT give you better medical care but it will pay for a private room or silicone tits). I willingly pay the extra 1% since I know it goes to health care for someone less fortunate and not some fat-cat's profit margin. The system saved my son's life in the 80's, at the time I was classified as "working poor" and it certainly saved my family from bankruptcy.
Orbital calculations are computationally simpler than climate calculations since the parameters are fewer and have a higher level of certainty. However both models use the same mathematical technique (sometimes called finite-element-analysis).
"No, it doesn't become a chaotic system at all. Orbital mechanics and climate simulations are, no pun intended, worlds apart."
Check again and you might find some "worlds" are closer than you think.
There is no precise solution for more than two objects because once you add a third body it becomes a chaotic system. The n-body calculations are done with brute force in the same way as the much maligned climate simulations.
Why do you think Goggle products are still in Beta?
They've already found that "chili dog with extra peppers" in Indonesia.
"There is no free lunch."
I have no argument with that, all I am saying is that IMO wind is underrated but I will concede it depends what monetary value you put on CO2 emmissions. I certainly agree that looking around the planet indicates "the industrial revolution" is failing miserably in the gardening department. We need to "fix that" simply because that is what our species does, even if our tinkering leads to our extinction we are driven to control our environment simply because that is how our species got it's unlikely position at top of the food chain with no major predators other than ourselves. Perhaps "technology" is just a cosmic flash in the pan that occasionally pops up on a random planet and dissapears just as quickly, it would explain why we are still waiting for ET to gives us a call.
As for towers there has been a lot of work done figuring out optimal sizes for the individual mills and individual farms. You can see the trend with the most recent projects using the largest mills. There's a lot more politics tied up with nuclear power but I think the pebble bed idea is a good one. Solar cells should be covering the rooftops of the suburbs but OTOH, most developed countries with reasonable daylight conditions have started to offer some pork to install them.
As for what can go wrong when digging holes in the Earth, we learn by our mistakes and modern landscaping such as levees, surge gates, ect have saved more lives than have been lost digging holes. Finally non of this means that Exonn are not total pricks.
"Nobody knew about the carbon dioxide issues till they were already affecting things."
Truth is that until recently nobody listen to the guy who predicted it over 100yrs ago.
"My co-worker looked funny at me."
You wouldn't happen to be a nuclear technician?
You seem out of date on the economics of wind technology - each time the globally installed base of windmills doubles the cost per windmill drops by 15%. The CSIRO has been telling Australia that it is "doable" since the 90's, politicians have been saying essentially what you have just said mainly because they do not want to lose centralised generation, thus the taxpayer's "green money" is thrown at a fiscal fantasy called "clean coal".
"Dry rock systems it seems, can cause earthquakes."
Any type of mining/drilling activity can trigger quakes by lubricating a fault line.
I have no interest in getting "mallrats wet", my own kids are older than your average "mallrat" so it's safe to say I don't see them in the same light as you do Mr. Boner. My age may also be the reason why I have no fucking idea what skull rings have to do with Pink Floyd?
Having read your post again it still appears that you belive in a common fantasy called "the good ol' days". Sorry if I misunderstood that sentiment.
No, the CSIRO has been working on this for over 10yrs that I know of and it is different to the Iceland plants. All you need for the heat is a large chunk of granite the hard part is pumping the water through the "wells". Most of the other plants I have heard of started with the water in place naturally.
Also wind is very viable provided you have you farms spread around the country, smaller nations may have a problem with "no wind" but nations like the US, Canada, Australia with their large land mass are ideal for wind generation.
"Human nature in the western culture, you mean. IIRC American Indians, many African cultures, and even our old agricultural society were much respectful of the environment."
Slash and burn will not feed 6,000,000,000 people! The "cultural revolution" you are suggesting has already been tried by China and was found wanting (for food mainly).
"Instead scientific and technological development didn't need to victimize the environment, or replace spirituality, or try to replace religion."
So exactly what would you like to throw out, since throwing out ALL "scientific and technological development" (ie:ideas and tools) put's humans somewhere below birds on the eveloutionary tree of brain-power?
"And until recently, that's what "medicine" and "science" thought was the case with the young man in the story. "
No, and why is it that many people automatically assume that "anything is possible" given enough time. People in that type of coma are known to wake up after months, even years, but medicine has not found much in the way of a reliable way to wake them up. He had "moments" where he was consious of his surroundings so the sugreons knew he was capable of responding when they tickled the right neurons. If the nerons are dead from lack of blood/oxygen, nothing short of resurection technology will bring them back and as the GP pointed out this would probably mean the patients "life" would start from scratch.
Besides if "medicine" and "science" thought it was impossible then why did they bother trying it out on this guy?
According to D.Adams 42 - but we are still checking the result.
I wouldn't read much into the three year thing, that's pretty much standard all over the western world. Over here in Australia it's got more to do with the 3yr depretiation of PC's for tax purposes than the 3mth - 1yr warranties.
"It's impossible that he served on the board and made the deal with the company because he believes in the product?"
In his position "the right thing to do" is excuse himself from the deal making process regardless of what he thinks about the company or it's products.
"I'm pretty sure that nobody gets graded on how good their searches are."
Contrary to popular opinion a respectable degree does not simply cram as many facts into your head as will fit. A university degree is supposed to give one the skills to find known answers to a question, any question!
"If the problem is the police might mis-use it, then your problem isn't with CCTV but the police."
Well said, that is the problem in a nutshell. Public cameras are an extra eye in a PUBLIC area, under the current regime these cameras also watch the police and in fact help to keep everyone honest, they have as much to do with "1984" as video-phones and the fear of rats. If the voters are stupid enough to install a "1984" style government then CCTV will be the least of their problems.
I dare any of the "1984" conspiracy theorists to give one REAL LIFE example of these cameras being misused in the UK.
Heh, over here in Australia most of the news stories mentioned it was not terrorisim in the first paragraph.
I think the story had more to do with politics & society than it did technology. I thought the rules thing was a metaphor for blind obedience to the ten commandments (or any other finite set of laws/rules). The story uses robots to represent indoctrinated humans in the "underclass" that suddenly start thinking for themselves.
OTOH: There are probably as many interpretations as there are fans.
I belive you have misread the GP, I think you missed the "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" parabole[sic?]. From an Aussie/UK point of view US prosecuters seem more interested in plea bargains than they say, a sound case against the person who is on trial. I understand deals are made to save money and court time in all three countries but that should not be the first concern of the DPP. Once "justice" has been seen to be done then the DPP can start haggling about the price tag.
It should be difficult to put a citizen in jail and impossible to seek state sponsored revenge through executions, but to an outsider (like me) it sometimes appears to be a dutch auction where they start at "life or death" and work down until the guy in the orange suit cracks. Not trying to be offensive here but do prosecuters in the US get a "job rating" based on some measure of "success"?
"As a Canadian, the FBI is as important to me as the RCMP is to Americans."
Yeah we get FBI warnings in Australia and they are similarly meaningless. What pisses me off the most is that these rude (and largely hollow) threats are always attached to media I PAY FOR. They hijack my DVD and even in the fucking theater I have to PAY FOR and sit through someone lecturing me with "the FBI will get you if you don't watch out" - what's next - make us all stand up for the FBI like we used to do in the 60's to "god save the queen".
It's not the warning itself I object to, or even the hyperbole contained within, but the fact that their ogliopoloy makes it such that( like the guy in clockwork orange with his eyelids wired open) I am "forced" to watch their bullshit "message".
I don't think google will try and claim their system is foolproof, I think they will claim it's as good as what the cops do with real fingerprints. I think they will will claim it enforces "fair use" and if the complainant is not happy with the automated "fair use" they still have the right to serve a "takedown notice". I'm sure they will also point out that real fingerprints are auto-matched on patrial information, and will claim this be done by google taking a few random hash strings and using it as the partial information.
If they have put any of those genius developers they have been hiring to good use they will challenge their oppnents to test the system under court supervision. Goes without saying that the system shown to the court will be a "beta version".
Both good ideas (and not just for the US), your post reminds me of something I saw on TV, after the fall of the Taliban a BBC(?) reporter was interviewing a female refugee whose village had been destroyed in fighting.
Reporter: "Will things get better now that the Taliban have gone and the N.Alliance has taken control of this area?"
Refugee: "The Taliban ask questions and shoot. The N. Alliance shoot and ask questions." (paraphrased)
Come to think of it a refund would probably be reasonably easy to obtain at the movies. I was just reacting to the mention of a rock concert. Maybe if the "abusive" part meant being strip searched at gunpoint the I could see the need for some intesive counseling on a pacific island paradise, but that's not what happened - $60K really is over the top.