When I first started using a feed reader, I was very worried about the prospect of forgetting information I'd learned from various articles that I found important. I'm not super old yet, so I was interested in everything from raising kids to getting a job to preparing for retirement. Initially I tried to use Del.icio.us to manage this information, but found its lack of built-in heirarchy to be a big negative.
So I started using JotSpot (now Google Sites) to keep track of everything. From experiences (how to interact with the opposite gender) to academics (programming!) to big life goals, all of the most important "revelations" and things I learn go on there. This personal wiki is absolutely invaluable to me in helping with my peace-of-mind and future planning. Someday, I hope that it will work as a sort of legacy... maybe a distilled version of what I've recorded could be passed on to my kids as a kind of "historical record".
And Google Tasks is awesome. Another commenter mentioned OrgMode, but I find the online nature of Tasks to be absolutely essential. When I sit down to do work, the first thing I do is open a separate tab with Tasks in fullscreen [simple] mode (mail.google.com/tasks/ig), make sure everything's prioritized properly, and begin.
The thing is, the way that Firefox is set up, many new users don't know that tabs even exist. I've tested it on my family. They treat it exactly like they treat IE. If you make the tabs available, but only really noticeable to people who know how to use them (a la Firefox), then no one could possibly be scared. How can someone be scared of a feature they don't know exists?
In 2.0 beta, the option for using Standard Windows fonts is found in Tools -> Options... -> OpenOffice.org -> View -> Use system font for user interface.
If there are computer resource (memory, space, etc.) problems with OpenOffice, there are always a few freealternatives, although there might be some legal issues with the free version of the 602 PC Suite.
Colonizing other planets will ensure that some of our offspring survive, because even when Earth becomes uninhabitable, we will have another planet to fall back on.
Also, I hope that we are more responsible with pollution and population on other planets. Scientists know the obvious consequences of pollution and overpopulation, so hopefully this will encourage responsibility for the prevention of either problem.
Hence my clarification: "I didn't mean that we should survive exactly as we are (i.e. future generations turn out just like us), though I suppose that that is somehow implied with my use of the word 'species'."
I didn't mean exterminate as in some sentient being comes along and blasts us to bits, though I do understand that "exterminate" is often used in such a sense. It may not be "valid usage" of the word, but it was the easiest way for me to describe the possibility of human extinction. Also, for our survival to be guaranteed, we need to actually pass that threshold, which we obviously haven't done yet. Sure, we might get there before we even have the technology to get to other solar systems, but I think the ability to colonize other planets (which we really do not have yet) is a large part of this "technological threshold".
Additionally, there is definitely a need to "colonize new star systems beyond what we will need to satisfy our curiosity and desire for fun." Our sun will eventually die out, and with it, our greatest source of energy. Unless humans drastically cut down their use of energy and find some way to produce light and food without tons of energy, we will need to move to survive. I love how you say "we will probably be able to shut [the sun] down and use its h[y]drogen sparingly to last billions [and] billions of years." It is a possibility, I suppose. Obviously, I don't have the foresight to be able to see what we will be able to do a billion years from now. However, I would hate to waste my life supposing that a billion years from now we will be able to protect ourselves when I can do something now. I also didn't suggest that we do any terraforming, though that would be cool as well.
I don't quite understand why thinking that survival of human civilization or survival as a species is important is "evolutionary atavism". This is not something that humans thought about a long time ago and that only I am thinking about now; it is something that humans have always thought about; that we have never stopped thinking about. Excuse me if I didn't make myself clear; I didn't mean that we should survive exactly as we are (i.e. future generations turn out just like us), though I suppose that that is somehow implied with my use of the word "species". The goal I'm talking about is that humans continue to produce offspring, which may or may not be genetically similar (though chances are it will be). We wouldn't even want to keep our "civilization"; most of the societies we have created for ourselves at this point have been pretty sad (though they have allowed us to produce increasingly good technology).
Just one more thing: You are wrong when you say that nobody cares about survival of the "species"--again, this meant in the sense that we will continue producing offspring (at least until medicine allows us to live forever). As long as one person cares about staying alive, that is care for human survival. I care about staying alive, and I'd bet that most slashdotters do, as well.
Not necessarily. The "trillions of human colonists" part may sound a little ridiculous, but we'd need at least a few people to colonize each of those habitable planets. This is not a "take over the universe" plot; it is rather a "survive as a species" plot. With people scattered throughout the universe, we would be very hard to exterminate, as a species. This could ensure our survival in spite of all sorts of disasters. Just think; the sun is not going to last forever, and every day us humans are making Earth slightly less habitable with insane pollution and disregard for the health of the environment and wildlife.
For the purpose of colonizing other planets, I think this exponential growth combined with new house building techniques is almost essential; at least for a while.
What about getting off Earth first, or finding out how to survive once our sun no longer exists as we know it? Getting to another solar system or planet should take precedence to getting out of our universe.
Slashdot Mirror
When I first started using a feed reader, I was very worried about the prospect of forgetting information I'd learned from various articles that I found important. I'm not super old yet, so I was interested in everything from raising kids to getting a job to preparing for retirement. Initially I tried to use Del.icio.us to manage this information, but found its lack of built-in heirarchy to be a big negative.
So I started using JotSpot (now Google Sites) to keep track of everything. From experiences (how to interact with the opposite gender) to academics (programming!) to big life goals, all of the most important "revelations" and things I learn go on there. This personal wiki is absolutely invaluable to me in helping with my peace-of-mind and future planning. Someday, I hope that it will work as a sort of legacy... maybe a distilled version of what I've recorded could be passed on to my kids as a kind of "historical record".
And Google Tasks is awesome. Another commenter mentioned OrgMode, but I find the online nature of Tasks to be absolutely essential. When I sit down to do work, the first thing I do is open a separate tab with Tasks in fullscreen [simple] mode (mail.google.com/tasks/ig), make sure everything's prioritized properly, and begin.
Here's a link to the actual (very readable) report: http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr092810.html
And the original article, I think: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0928/Bans-on-texting-while-driving-don-t-reduce-crashes-study-says
I think you are thinking of chromosomes, which owe their structure to proteins.
You can get within about 1/10th of a second accurately, with a little bit of practice.
Really? I heard it would be made with aggregated diamond nanorods... (http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/9/8/16/1?rss= 2.0)
Boo. Perhaps the poster has a sticky keyboard. Why underestimate someone whom, I assume, you know nothing about?
You know, I somehow think they realize that.... just take a quick glance at those PS3 pictures and specs again...
The thing is, the way that Firefox is set up, many new users don't know that tabs even exist. I've tested it on my family. They treat it exactly like they treat IE. If you make the tabs available, but only really noticeable to people who know how to use them (a la Firefox), then no one could possibly be scared. How can someone be scared of a feature they don't know exists?
In 2.0 beta, the option for using Standard Windows fonts is found in Tools -> Options... -> OpenOffice.org -> View -> Use system font for user interface.
If there are computer resource (memory, space, etc.) problems with OpenOffice, there are always a few free alternatives, although there might be some legal issues with the free version of the 602 PC Suite.
Colonizing other planets will ensure that some of our offspring survive, because even when Earth becomes uninhabitable, we will have another planet to fall back on.
Also, I hope that we are more responsible with pollution and population on other planets. Scientists know the obvious consequences of pollution and overpopulation, so hopefully this will encourage responsibility for the prevention of either problem.
Hence my clarification: "I didn't mean that we should survive exactly as we are (i.e. future generations turn out just like us), though I suppose that that is somehow implied with my use of the word 'species'."
Additionally, there is definitely a need to "colonize new star systems beyond what we will need to satisfy our curiosity and desire for fun." Our sun will eventually die out, and with it, our greatest source of energy. Unless humans drastically cut down their use of energy and find some way to produce light and food without tons of energy, we will need to move to survive. I love how you say "we will probably be able to shut [the sun] down and use its h[y]drogen sparingly to last billions [and] billions of years." It is a possibility, I suppose. Obviously, I don't have the foresight to be able to see what we will be able to do a billion years from now. However, I would hate to waste my life supposing that a billion years from now we will be able to protect ourselves when I can do something now. I also didn't suggest that we do any terraforming, though that would be cool as well.
I don't quite understand why thinking that survival of human civilization or survival as a species is important is "evolutionary atavism". This is not something that humans thought about a long time ago and that only I am thinking about now; it is something that humans have always thought about; that we have never stopped thinking about. Excuse me if I didn't make myself clear; I didn't mean that we should survive exactly as we are (i.e. future generations turn out just like us), though I suppose that that is somehow implied with my use of the word "species". The goal I'm talking about is that humans continue to produce offspring, which may or may not be genetically similar (though chances are it will be). We wouldn't even want to keep our "civilization"; most of the societies we have created for ourselves at this point have been pretty sad (though they have allowed us to produce increasingly good technology).
Just one more thing: You are wrong when you say that nobody cares about survival of the "species"--again, this meant in the sense that we will continue producing offspring (at least until medicine allows us to live forever). As long as one person cares about staying alive, that is care for human survival. I care about staying alive, and I'd bet that most slashdotters do, as well.
For the purpose of colonizing other planets, I think this exponential growth combined with new house building techniques is almost essential; at least for a while.
Somehow, the word "surprised" seems a bit too weak here.....
What about getting off Earth first, or finding out how to survive once our sun no longer exists as we know it? Getting to another solar system or planet should take precedence to getting out of our universe.