No middle class...so true, and and relates to some very interesting recent research in scale free networks and economics.
Basically, if you take a scale free network of investors, a sufficiently random market, not many government controls and run a simulation wealth tends to concentrate down to a few individuals. The more controls you have, the lesser the concentration. What's interesting is investor skill didn't seem to matter as much as getting that first lucky break. So a purely investment driven economy with little restrictions condenses wealth.
I know, I know, this is fairly simple and involves only investment, but there is more complicated research involving scale free networks and economics going on right now which includes labour, etc.
Some key points are:
1) Aristocratic networks of highly connected individuals w/ lots of wealth 2) Wealth doesn't tend to leave these networks at any appreciable rate except to start large ventures(trickle down doesn't work, but we knew that after reagan)
I vaugely remeber the structure being fractal, but its very hard to jump levels.
As an aside, ound like network architecture? Fat pipes w/ x bandwidth and local distribution of smaller bandwidth? Thats what makes scale free networks so interesting.
Anyhow, the upshot is our current economic structure centralizes wealth; an extreme example being mexico.
*rant* IMHO, this is really fucking bad. Technology is reaching a point where human needs can be provided for w/ little labour, and if the human race would wake up and realize that less people on the planet would be good, we could all live pretty well w/ little effort. Back in the day, hunter gatherers only worked about 4 hours...go figure.
I, for one would rather live in a society that valued science, art, culture, etc. than one that was set up to create a few wealth investors/Executives and a nation of wall mart employees and Gap greeters.
*Note* My full discosure; I'm a software guy, but chances are I would have ended up in academia if there wasn't a dot-com boom. As it is I'm doing the entrepreneur/independent/contrator thing. My behaviour in the economy would probably be republican approved if I wasn't Canadian.
They were filming one of my martial arts instructors demonstrating and talking through kali knife fighting techniques. They definitely wanted bloody techniques, like disembowelments, not just efficient techniques. I wonder if this was the game?
PS -- Before somebody flames me, Kali knife techniques are very brutal, as are all realistic knife fighting techinques. Still, some are bloodier than others.
I was just having a converstion recently about how dystopian futures described in fiction are creeping up on us: this would have been a perfect example. shrugging towards gomorrah.
I know we are living in a particiarily virulent era of corporate control, but I hope the general public regards this a fucked up and ignores it.
There really needs to be a law where we can challange corporate leaders to hand-to-hand comabt for inflicting stupid shit on the world.
Clique, dude, clique. I'm not a spelling/grammar Nazi, but represting drunk Canadians everywhere, I was *confused* by your comment:) Visions of battling corporate mice were dancing through my head....
I'm in a similar situation at the moment, w/ the added fun that I'm also setting the milestones:)
This can lead to you doing fuck all very quickly. I'm pretty nocturnal, so I tend to work a split shift, but the most important things I have found is:
It's bloody hard to start work until you do something else. Even walking around the block will help. Going out for breakfast, or just coffee, is great.
Exercise a lot: if you do something more social(not just jumping on the exercise bike or lifting weights) this will provide human interaction. This works really well if you can find something that is near the start of your schedule; in my case lunchtime ashtanga:) Hey, its morning for me. I also find having a martial art to do most evenings helps me end the work day, but any fun activity will do.
Well, I just switched to telus(mainly for the cheap 6 months) but looking at their TOS: -5 gig down/month -1 up/month
I may not keep it for 6 months. I know people that have downloaded a lot more than this using telus and they haven't been harassed, but they weren't doing more than a gig a day, prob. 6 gig a month upstream total.
So...2 questions:
1.) How long has this TOS been in effect? 2.) Do they actually enforce it as written?
Knowledge of enforcement is useful before you break rules:)
Slashdot Mirror
Internet Security, PC-Cillin, whatever they are calling things these days.
No middle class...so true, and and relates to some very interesting recent research in scale free networks and economics.
Basically, if you take a scale free network of investors, a sufficiently random market, not many government controls and run a simulation wealth tends to concentrate down to a few individuals. The more controls you have, the lesser the concentration. What's interesting is investor skill didn't seem to matter as much as getting that first lucky break. So a purely investment driven economy with little restrictions condenses wealth.
I know, I know, this is fairly simple and involves only investment, but there is more complicated research involving scale free networks and economics going on right now which includes labour, etc.
Some key points are:
1) Aristocratic networks of highly connected individuals w/ lots of wealth
2) Wealth doesn't tend to leave these networks at any appreciable rate except to start large ventures(trickle down doesn't work, but we knew that after reagan)
I vaugely remeber the structure being fractal, but its very hard to jump levels.
As an aside, ound like network architecture? Fat pipes w/ x bandwidth and local distribution of smaller bandwidth? Thats what makes scale free networks so interesting.
Anyhow, the upshot is our current economic structure centralizes wealth; an extreme example being mexico.
*rant*
IMHO, this is really fucking bad. Technology is reaching a point where human needs can be provided for w/ little labour, and if the human race would wake up and realize that less people on the planet would be good, we could all live pretty well w/ little effort. Back in the day, hunter gatherers only worked about 4 hours...go figure.
I, for one would rather live in a society that valued science, art, culture, etc. than one that was set up to create a few wealth investors/Executives and a nation of wall mart employees and Gap greeters.
*Note* My full discosure; I'm a software guy, but chances are I would have ended up in academia if there wasn't a dot-com boom. As it is I'm doing the entrepreneur/independent/contrator thing. My behaviour in the economy would probably be republican approved if I wasn't Canadian.
They were filming one of my martial arts instructors demonstrating and talking through kali knife fighting techniques. They definitely wanted bloody techniques, like disembowelments, not just efficient techniques. I wonder if this was the game? PS -- Before somebody flames me, Kali knife techniques are very brutal, as are all realistic knife fighting techinques. Still, some are bloodier than others.
Directly from the site:
...
Technology will be used to harness the laws of physics,
I really couldn't read on after that point. Of course, if the sentence had read "disobey the laws of physics" I might have been equally perturbed.
Seriously though, don't they run ad-copy past anybody besides other adwriters?
I know we are living in a particiarily virulent era of corporate control, but I hope the general public regards this a fucked up and ignores it.
There really needs to be a law where we can challange corporate leaders to hand-to-hand comabt for inflicting stupid shit on the world.
Clique, dude, clique. I'm not a spelling/grammar Nazi, but represting drunk Canadians everywhere, I was *confused* by your comment:) Visions of battling corporate mice were dancing through my head....
This can lead to you doing fuck all very quickly. I'm pretty nocturnal, so I tend to work a split shift, but the most important things I have found is:
It's bloody hard to start work until you do something else. Even walking around the block will help. Going out for breakfast, or just coffee, is great.
Exercise a lot: if you do something more social(not just jumping on the exercise bike or lifting weights) this will provide human interaction. This works really well if you can find something that is near the start of your schedule; in my case lunchtime ashtanga:) Hey, its morning for me. I also find having a martial art to do most evenings helps me end the work day, but any fun activity will do.
YMMV.
Well, I just switched to telus(mainly for the cheap 6 months) but looking at their TOS:
-5 gig down/month
-1 up/month
I may not keep it for 6 months. I know people that have downloaded a lot more than this using telus and they haven't been harassed, but they weren't doing more than a gig a day, prob. 6 gig a month upstream total.
So...2 questions:
1.) How long has this TOS been in effect?
2.) Do they actually enforce it as written?
Knowledge of enforcement is useful before you break rules:)