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User: grumling

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  1. Re:the only thing I'd get on The Best Tech You Can't Get in the US · · Score: 1

    I would rent one for a few days, but I don't think I'd bother buying one. Once everything is converted, why would you need to use it (assuming you have a HQ turntable already).

  2. Re:so what? on Humans Not Evolved for IT Security · · Score: 1

    Actually, we are built to deal with security. You dog, however, may have some problems getting along with it. The reason is because fido's brain isn't as far along as yours. It only deals with emotions and autonomic responses to the world. You brain, however, is able to ignore these responses and (usually) accurately assess the situation. But only if it chooses to.

    You are right, people who gamble are not thinking rationally. They are using simple reenforcement methods to justify to continue to gamble, and calling it probability. If these people were truly playing the odds they'd never pick up the dice to begin with. The casinos know this and kick out the people who know how to beat the odds out when discovered (such as card counters).

  3. Re:agreed on Long-lived Mars Rovers to Keep on Roving · · Score: 1

    The mars rovers are looking for water (ok, technically evidence of) in a dry, inhospitable place. No way there's a market for something like that in the third world. No way at all.

  4. Re:Obscure Blade Runner Reference: on Human-Robot Love and Marriage · · Score: 2, Insightful

    After I posted, I thought I should have put a little comment for people who may not figure my point. Imagine sitting in a bar. A beautiful woman is making eye contact with you. You buy her a drink. You hit it off. You begin seeing her on a regular basis. She talks about her past, you talk about yours. Everything is right with the world. You decide to get married. Suddenly, the state tells you that you may not be married because she is a replicant. Bad news for you, devastating for her (since she didn't know). We live in a world where "robots" are metal beings with flashing lights and interchangeable appendages. What if someone decided to create replicant type beings? They would fit the definition of a robot, but would be biological instead of mechanical. Would you be able to tell the difference on casual contact? Do you have access to a Voight-Kampff machine, and do you know how to use it?

    This debate, while very premature, is much more subtle and interesting than the simple gay marriage debate since it may very well become impossible to tell the difference between man made and man. For example, on a casual level, commercial pornography is already mostly artificial, not only in terrible plot themes and situations, but also in the extensive use of Photoshop and cosmetic surgery. Playboy has gone way beyond the simple dodge/burn methods of airbrushing to the point that centerfolds are nearly cartoon drawings of what the photo editor thinks the girl should have looked like. Some may say that is why PLA is doing so poorly, but clearly they still turn a profit. I think it is only a matter of time before photorendering engines get good (and cheap) enough for the entire porn industry to go animated/cyber. Once this happens, look for live sex shows to take off, much like strip clubs. Eventually we'll see animatronic strippers in an arms race to keep patrons in the store. Sure, customers will know that they are fake, but in time will not only accept it, but also expect it.

    Our experience is filtered by the reptilian brain before it reaches the reasoning brain. If the reptilian brain overwhelms the reasoning one, we will accept what we know to be false and in time come to see it as truth.

  5. Re:Final? on Blade Runner, The Final Cut · · Score: 1

    That would be the goal. Society today finds it much more profitable to recycle than to produce new. That holds true for tires, soda cans, automobiles (both in resources and design), music (rappers just sample for the most part), and movies/television (both with reissues, remakes and the "CBS photocopier method" where a hit show is reworked just enough to avoid copyright infringement). Let's face it, the reason Steve Jobs is god is because he figured out that "creative borrowing" is much easier than creating something that has never been done before.

  6. Obscure Blade Runner Reference: on Human-Robot Love and Marriage · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Deckard: She's a replicant, isn't she?
    Tyrell: I'm impressed. How many questions does it usually take to spot them?
    Deckard: I don't get it Tyrell.
    Tyrell: How many questions?
    Deckard: Twenty, thirty, cross-referenced.
    Tyrell: It took more than a hundred for Rachael, didn't it?
    Deckard: She doesn't know.
    Tyrell: She's beginning to suspect, I think.
    Deckard: Suspect? How can it not know what it is?

    Tyrell: "More human than human" is our motto.

  7. Oh My GOD! on Orion Nebula Gets New Milepost Marker, Now Closer · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's coming right at us!

    Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue...

    -Steve McCroskey

  8. Re:Message to God on 'Floating Bridge' Property of Water Found · · Score: 1

    1) plant grape seed
    2) Add water (it's what plants crave!)
    3) harvest fruit
    4) squash juice out of fruit
    5) put juice in sterile barrel
    6) add yeast
    7) wait a month or two

    Enjoy

  9. Re:What? on Internet Uses 9.4% of Electricity In the US · · Score: 1

    Not anymore. And the largest user of electricity, smelting Bauxite into Aluminum, has largely been supplanted by recycling.

  10. Re:The FED is.. on The History of the Federal Reserve · · Score: 1

    More like, "sadly, no one will be standing around yelling"

  11. Re:Because the disconnect doesn't matter on The History of the Federal Reserve · · Score: 1

    Some people don't want to think about the infrastructure that makes modern life possible. Some of them are the same people who think internet access should be free (and ad blocked), and that there are no consequences to using inefficient products. Since the Fed controls the money supply, they are part of the modern infrastructure (maybe the most important part). Some of us like to find out how things work, and the money supply is no different from other large systems.

    While I agree with you on one level, I feel I have a much richer life by attempting to be well rounded and informed on a variety of subjects, instead of just one or two. I know that is the unpopular view these days, but I've never been popular anyway.

  12. Re:The Tin Foil Hat Crowd ... on The History of the Federal Reserve · · Score: 1

    Still trying to decide if I'm an objectivist or not, but I understand why fiat is not generally considered a good thing to the objectivist philosophy. It depends on faith instead of "hard" fact. But the problem with that thinking is that there is no assurance that anyone will take gold in exchange for goods and services, either. The reason Greenspan is in favor of fiat is because there isn't enough gold in the world to divide up and still have a manageable money system. For example, as I write this, gold is at $727.60/oz. That would mean I would need a currency equivalent to 0.00137438153oz to equal the same purchasing power as a dollar (or go to the dollar store and buy some junk). By inflating the dollar, it makes the low end purchase possible, and ultimately makes it possible to create great volumes of inexpensive merchandise. It also makes it impossible for anyone to corner the market. Think about a few years ago, Warren Buffet was going to corner the silver market, buying as much as possible. The problem was that there was just too much of it out there and he lost his shirt when the market collapsed (since he was the only buyer).

    Greenspan was the best guy to put in charge of the system, because he knew that keeping the supply of money somewhat stable was the best thing to do. Remember hyperinflation in the 1970's? That was in part because Nixon took away the last of the metal backed currency and started a panic. He did this to fund his police actions and to screw with the oil industry. Did a lot of good, too. Almost bankrupted NYC and led to a lot of disasters (and shitty movies like Saturday Night Fever).

  13. Rules of the road on Apple Platform Lock-Ins, A 3rd Party Dev's Opinion · · Score: 2, Insightful

    He who owns the road sets the rules. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If you want to play in Steve's sandbox, you better do what Steve says, or he just might smite you. If your business model depends on the whims of a tyrant, you'd better have some cash on hand to weather the storm.

  14. Re:keep it in perspective.... on Apple Platform Lock-Ins, A 3rd Party Dev's Opinion · · Score: 1

    Actually, he bought 18 of them!

  15. Re:falling prices are normal on Crazy Stevie's iPhone Prices are Insaaane! · · Score: 1

    Try telling that to Hollywood, the music business, and (the worst of all) sports franchises. Prices do go down on individual units, but not as much as they used to, and certainly not in the same way hard goods do. I wonder why that is? Perhaps because of all the fans, perhaps due to dearth of new producers getting into the distribution pool.

  16. Re:Don't forget time. on Crazy Stevie's iPhone Prices are Insaaane! · · Score: 1

    That's why 0% financing is such a good deal. If you make the assumption that you will get about a 2-3% increase in your income over the course of the loan, that loan will be cheaper over time.

  17. Re:Deflation on Crazy Stevie's iPhone Prices are Insaaane! · · Score: 1

    Don't forget the events leading up to the destruction of that grain... There was a huge run-up on wheat, which caused farmers in the Oklahoma panhandle to over farm the land, since wheat was worth more than gold. When the price of wheat crashed, the farms went bust. Add to that a "drought" and junk science (rain follows the plow) and the whole agribusiness went to hell. And most of it was just rotting next to silos anyway. The few people who know how to work the land turned out OK, but only because the suckers left.

    http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/worst_hard_time/

  18. Re:Emergency Communications on The Journey of Radios From Hardware to Software · · Score: 1

    That's kind of the point. You need to talk to the State Police dispatcher to get a highway closed, just load up the Motorola SMARTNET protocol, pick the frequency (or have the radio search) and push the button. Need to contact a hospital for advice on what to do with the guy hopped up on PCP? Load up the P-25 profile and squeeze the pickle. Need to find out where you are? Open up the GPS reciever window. Want to get a Red Cross canteen to the fire line? Dial up the local ARES net and send the request.

    BTW the biggest problem with inter-agency comms is not the radio - most agencies outside the large metros still use narrowband FM, either on VHF or UHF, and almost all commercial 2 ways are capable of being retuned. That is changing, thanks to the DHS money, and may be a step backward in the short term (although promoting P-25 as a standard helps). The biggest problem is that the radios bought are usually the cheapest things made, that are only programmed for one channel (and folks don't know how to use them anyway), and command centers become prime areas for turf wars and money pits.

  19. Re:I used to take anti-depressants on Happiness Is A Warm Electrode · · Score: 1

    What part of the brain contains this "soul" you speak of? Are there humans alive that don't have a soul? Can I buy yours? Can I sell you mine? Will an angry God take it and throw it in a lake o' fire if I'm not worthy? Am I pissed off because my "soul" is dark and out of alignment? Can I get it realigned?

  20. Re:I love how all these brain techniques... on Happiness Is A Warm Electrode · · Score: 1

    Since there only about 50 people who have had the procedure done, there are no statistics available. Just wait until these are commonplace and the same people who hack iPhones will be happy to hack your brain implant to make you euphoric with the push of a button. The perfect drug, driven by software. Now excuse me while I buy some stock in Duracell.

  21. In the future on Company Demos Personal Aircraft, Future Jetpack · · Score: 1

    I imagine a world where the only sound you hear is Doppler shifted screams followed by a lot of destruction. I'm going to start a roofing company.

  22. Re:Running Scared on Verizon Sues FCC over 700MHz Open Access Rules · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Except that the day they win the auction, they start lobbying congress for extensions, due to "technical issues" that are making it harder to roll out service. And that open access thing? Well, that's much harder than we thought too. Gonna take more time, like, about another 8 years. Yea, just long enough for a new FCC chairman to be appointed by a new President, one who will forget all about this silly open access/90% roll-out clause.

  23. Re:No big deal on FCC Says Analog TV Lives Until 2012 · · Score: 1

    There was some debate over requiring analog SD video sent over the cable (no box needed) or allowing a set top to decode the digital signal to video/channel 3. The cable companies can now go forward with their switched digital video plans and use all of the available bandwidth for digital services. This is a good thing, even though you'll have to get one of those "stupid set tops" that destroy your TV experience. Just like Dish and Direct TV and Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse and OTA television.

    This only was in reference to the local/must carry channels. All other channels can be sent however the cable company wants.

  24. Re:I'm surprised that no-one's mentioned Gorillas on DOS 5 Upgrade Video · · Score: 1

    I used to write in 6502 assembler by hand writing the opcodes, figuring out the HEX equivalent and looking up the correct letters in ATASCII. Then I'd write the characters to Page 6 and execute a USR() command in Atari Basic. Look! Fancy colors!

    What a waste of time!

  25. Re:My own suggestions on Seven Wonders of the IT World · · Score: 1

    Yea, the DEW network was an amazing thing for the day... The first application of real time computing, and networked RADAR installations as well! SABRE was the next big commercial system, if you believe IBM.