I agree entirely (on both counts). I too don't think a "free market" can exist in today's world. I suspect that, at some time in the distant past, we've had a free market at some point on this planet and in a very specific location but I'll be damned if I think it can exist today. And yes, the username has a certain distinct impression (albeit, perhaps, not the correct one) in my head. I'm kind of fond of it.;-)
To get back to the free market. I'm a pretty staunch Libertarian and I'm not even that stupid. However, I fall on the Socialist Libertarian side of things - though I don't prefer the moniker. The ends are, in my view, similar to socialism but my reasoning and means are quite different than what might be considered typical for a socialist philosophy. I simply don't think a free market could, or should, exist. The people who seem to advocate for such don't actually appear to know what one is and would be the first to be taken advantage of.
Ah well... I agree entirely with your definition. Free is unfettered and has no restrictions. It's absurd and an idiotic goal. Yes, let's rely on the honesty of the seller and require grandma to be fluent in the intricacies to avoid ending up being hurt... That's a brilliant idea! *sighs* Sometimes it pains me to actually identify as a Libertarian because the connotations have changed.
Hmm... The library in the village, when I'm home - at least, is not paid for by any taxes - they even pay taxes (albeit at a locked in rate from something like 1860 so not a whole lot in taxes). (I think their tax bill was like $6 per year and they're actually unable to increase their size because of it - or were, more on that in a minute.) See, a long time ago, someone set up a trust and a collection of books to get things started. The library was staffed with volunteers and a single poorly paid librarian. They even participate in the Inter-library Loan deal - at no cost to patrons.
Residents get a library card for free. Tourists, out of town folks, people with camps, etc. all pay a small ($10 - $25/year) fee. Electricity, heat, improvements, etc. are all done via donations.
In fact, they wanted to expand and have some extra space. They wanted to do some remodeling and the donations had provided a goodly sum towards that goal but hadn't provided everything. Doing so would have increased their taxes. A deal was struck with the town and some anonymous person donated enough money and tripled their original trust fund to ensure they can keep running in perpetuity. They can now afford the new tax, have completed the expansion, have computers and internet, upgraded the boiler (and did needed repairs), restored some of the stonework, replaced the windows, and have an emergency fund. They were able to not only meet their needs but someone came along and matched every single donation (up to $10,000) made by an individual and matched every donation (up to $25,000) for any business that was willing to donate.
That anonymous person now sits on the board of directors and, at last count, they had an investment of about 1.2e5 dollars which gave them an average of ~160k dollars for a yearly operating budget. They can now afford to provide computers, pay for two librarians, give a stipend to a few volunteers, have a couple of functions for kids and adults alike, and pay any related expenses while maintaining a budget surplus and have expansion and upgrade plans as well as prepare for emergencies. They were able to complete, with a surplus, their expansion which meant that they could get their copper roof worked on.
No tax dollars went to work on the project, the labor was paid for or was done by volunteers. Some of the material was donated - including some carving done in granite and some fascia work. It's rather nice and only took a few years to complete once the funding was in place. They probably would have managed it without the anonymous donation(s) but those certainly sped the project up and enabled them to do more and come out ahead of where they'd expected to be.
Err... I should also mention that the townsfolk are reasonably certain of who that anonymous person is as the timing is a bit suspect and it's a small town where nothing is really anonymous but they're anonymous just the same.
I guess the point is, not all libraries are funded with taxes. They don't even fund the upkeep on the lawn or even plow the parking lot with town vehicles. It's a pretty nice library that has some great patrons and some great volunteers/paid staff who really believe in the library and its benefits. Some folks have said the anonymous donations have saved the library but I personally believe they'd have met their goals anyhow but that it would have taken longer. There's still some inner debate with that anonymous person as to whether they'll be leaving their own collection behind for said library and then putting the house and some of the property into a trust that enables it to be retained by the library. Something where, with enough work, others can come and study on a more long-term basis would be ideal but that's still a matter of debate and has not been decided and may never reach fruition.
Oh, the town has fewer than 1200 residents and now has a library that exceeds most other libraries in the area in services provided and is on par with square footage equal to, or greater than, many libraries that server much larger populations. It can be done without taxes. This doesn't mean taxes shouldn't take care of it, just that it's not required.
Some years back, I had an OC12 in my connection closet that fed my server room. I'd stumbled across an inbound call router on eBay. In the interest of learning new things, we had the inbound call router connected and firewalled from the local network. If you knew the number and had a user/password (we built it all with older equipment) then you could call in and have free dial-up internet access. I don't actually have any idea how many people used it because it was the techs that took care of it all and handed the accounts out to friends and family.
I no longer own a connection closet with an OC12 and my server room is just a small rack in my basement at home and some colo equipment. It was kind of fun for a while. They were not going to allow that to remain enabled when I sold, there's no chance in hell and I didn't even ask. I still have that inbound call router, somewhere.
There are a total of 6 houses that have full-time residents in my unincorporated township. I've managed to save a good portion of the 'net over the years and can reconstruct a bunch of it or, at least, provide similar services. If SHTF and things go downhill, well, my neighbors and I will still have internet of some type or the other, at least eventually. Considering that it will have hit the fan, we might just be able to use radio and not have to worry about the FCC. I'm reasonably well equipped to do such but I lack the domain knowledge to do so. I'm reasonably certain that I can learn.
That said, I have no idea why the people on here feel entitled to free internet. As much as I personally don't prefer the site, I'm quite certain that some is better than none and I'm quite certain that this company is free to offer this free service and the various caveats - up to, and including, informed consent and tracking of user data. That includes ads, that includes walled-gardens, that includes even limited protocols and the likes. I don't want such services but I have no problem with them being offered as a choice for those who might otherwise have nothing. For me, it seems more like television. You don't have a right to view HBO. This is someone offering television in exchange for some metrics. They are not going to give you every channel for free. You'll have to pay for the additional channels.
When I'm home, I pay to visit a headshrinker or, lately, a therapist. Why? They're usually objective, honest, and able to give me feedback. I also want to ensure that I'm sane - they tell me that I am. I've been going to see a headshrinker for years and years - since I was in my 20s, though I had to see one as a kid for a spell. Depending on my schedule and my desire, I may see one every week. I can tell them the complete and total truth. I can tell them that about my thoughts and feelings and they can give me feedback and help me ensure that I'm remaining objective, logically consistent, and let me know of choices that I may not have seen on my own.
As an aside, I also like group therapy sessions but I don't attend them as a general rule. I have, in the past, done so but I felt that I was taking time and a seat away from someone who might be better served by it. Sitting in front of a group of people who are tearing into your logic and reasoning is a good thing. It helps you be more consistent and think more clearly. It enables you to be more honest with yourself and others. I'd like something a bit more tailored to my needs but sites, such as this, come fairly close. I often put more about me and my thinking online than others - it allows folks to rip into it and find fault. I'm not perfect and this lets me see flaws that I'd otherwise miss. It has been a great help. I'm able to find and read posts from many years back and the change in my ability to articulate and opine with logical consistencies and reasoning has been quite startling.
Hello $user. I am really $swear $inebriationlevel! I have some $illicitdrugs and bought too much. I need to pay my $bill, I'm getting rid of some $illicitdrugs for $lowprice and can deliver, if you're interested.
Hello Joe. I am really damned tripped right not. I have some acid and bought too much. I need to pay my car payment, I'm getting rid of some acid for $50 for a ten strip and can deliver, if you're interested.
I suppose it could scrape your post history, emails, former chats, criminal record, and then do the same for your friends and find out what you find tempting and run with that and tailor it for your needs a bit better. One company, be it Google, Apple, Microsoft, WhatsApp, or the likes - may well have information not just about you but about what your stupid contacts admit to online and be able to craft some very specific and insightful messages - in an entirely automated fashion.
Entrapment restrictions may still apply. I am not sure that those regulations are as strong as they once were, however. In the interest of stopping drug use and prosecuting pedophilia we appear to have been willing to weaken those protections. To be fair, that we don't likely include either you or I but, given our lack of action, they've concluded that we consent to such. After all, are you going to speak out on the rights of the pedophile? That is, of course, also a generic you but it may be you in particular.
Does that one case involve a president and someone making threats toward said president? If that's the case, I recall that one. I can't think of any others. I've seen lots of people *claim* they were censored and even found a glitch or two but I don't know of any other instances where a post has been deleted. I do know that they won't let you say certain things in certain ways. I guess we could call those censorship.
Sometimes, a reply will not show up in threads that exceed a certain size. I don't know what happens but you can actually see the reply by clicking on the parent comment and viewing it as a single thread. You can look at the whole thread in a new browser, with a new IP address, not logged in, and it will still be missing. But, if you click the parent comment and open that up by itself then it is there.
It gets even more odd... That same comment *must* be visible to someone else because I had a recent comment, in a long thread, that had this happen and yet someone found it and replied. However, I checked with multiple IP addresses, various browsers, several different devices, and finally a phone. I used two VMs - I literally checked like a dozen different ways. The comment never once appeared directly but did appear, every time, when I clicked the parent comment's ID # and opened it as a single thread.
I'd not call that censorship. I'd call that a bug. I only noticed because I had refreshed the page and was unable to see my comment. I figured the thread was lagging and the database was flaky. So, I did some poking. I then noticed that the comment had attracted no moderation - I'm pretty good at knowing what comments I make will be moderated and in which direction. (The difference is that I don't really give two shits about the moderation. I just happen to see a pattern and appear to be able to make fairly accurate predictions.)
So, some folks may be thinking their being censored but it's more a glitch than anything else. I can probably find the comment easily enough - I recall it quite specifically. I'll refrain from posting it as I'm actually glad that it did end up the way it ended up - as I was scolding a rather famous person for logical inconsistencies and there's no need for others to be involved in it.
Oh, and had I made this comment earlier it might have been modded up. I'd have expected it to be insightful of interesting by someone's standards. However, the post is now way back on the 2nd page and will probably be on the 3rd by the time the average American is awake (more USians) so it's unlikely to be noticed. At best, it might get a couple of points but probably none at all. Though, by mentioning it, someone may mod it troll to be funny - or off-topic.
Either way, that was how I noticed the bug, what I found while investigating the bug, and why some people may think they're being censored when they're not actually being censored. It's hard telling but I figured I'd toss this into the mental mix. Other than the incident with the president, I don't know of anything being censored. If I did, well, I'd certainly not have kept screen shots. It's not like I regularly scrape the comments section and I kind of doubt that others do. At least not as a general rule.
They say that they have Touring Complete bots. I have seen, I've read with great interest, these conversations and some of these results. I should like to be administered a blind test. I've tried a number of online variations - with zeal and great hope, since the very, very early days. I've yet to find one that even remotely would have come close to fooling me into thinking the were human. Not even the one with bad grammar would have (I think) fooled me.
I've asked them all a few, very specifically targeted, questions and have always managed to make them give a non-answer. That's the great indicator. You can see the flaws pretty quickly. I am nothing special. I am not super intelligent. I'm just observant.
Again, nothing logically inconsistent or anything in specific that I'd argue - other than it's not my fault that people are inattentive and willfully ignorant. It's hard to say it's not their fault when we've the sum of human knowledge available for the low barrier of entry that is learning to use a search engine effectively. I'm unfamiliar with your age, I suspect you're probably about 10-15 years my junior (I'm 58), but the Libertarian party was represented, by the media, as the loony left while the Republicans still held sway. Now, with the Democrats holding a bit more power, there has been a swing in perspective. To be fair, there's also been a shift in participants.
We'll let anyone into the party and we'll let everyone have the microphone. I dare say, it'd be antithetical to not do so. That said, it's disheartening to see the party represented so but it is what some actively believe. I prefer to call them Randians. I also prefer to refer to some as Ashamed Republicans who are not actually aware of the platform and somehow think that Libertarianism is some sort of right-wing ideal. I often, as of late, say that Ayn Rand was an idiot and Rand Paul is not a Libertarian.
The rest, for the most part, I can agree with and you said it a bit better than I think I would have. I'm a bit on the fence with it being mandatory so, in return, I'd submit that it not be mandatory that certain benefits would apply if you participated. Something akin to the GI Bill springs to mind, as does VA care, etc... (The VA is not as bad, in my experience, as some might have others believe.)
Oddly, I'm not sure I've really ever agreed with you this much in the past. Duly noted. Kudos for the logical consistency and, in hindsight, more of your commentary makes sense. Finding logical consistency, including intellectual honesty, is a rarity in these parts. One of the reasons that I value this site is that there are some members who force me to justify my beliefs and give me cause to review them for inconsistencies. I'm one of the odd folks who is comfortable with making mistakes and learning from them. I'm quite happy to change my mind and opinion when I'm presented with new factual information.
Oh, I'm sort of retired. I have had the need to return to my old business and give some assistance and I am still not, technically, retired. I use the word 'retired' because it's easier to use. I not only invest but I also do some fairly local, in person, investing in small businesses for friends and family. I sit on the board at a local credit union but I am mostly there to give tech recommendations, maybe some research, and things of that nature - though I have a vote, I often abstain. I keep my hand in a bunch of small things. I try to keep my fingers on the pulse of tech, business, and politics.
Finally, I'm running for office and quite likely to win the seat as State Senator. I am not doing this because I want to, I can assure you that I've more interesting things to do with my time. I'm doing so because I've been asked a number of times, can afford to fund my own campaign, and feel it part of the social contract. (Maine has many similarities with Alaska and even a few similarities with Texas.) I'll accept and perform the job for one round and one round only. During that time, I'll see if I can get someone else interested in taking my place and aid them. If they want to elect them, after I'm done, then all the better. I have no interest in serving longer than one term and I do not even want to serve that term - I just kind of owe it, I've been served well enough in the past (as is obviated by my success).
It's not entirely altruism. I don't want to be the person in power. They're subject to many things that I'd like to avoid. I'd much rather have the ear and favor of the person in power.
I am from the US, hold a Ph.D in Applied Mathematics, and call it maths, mathematics, or sometimes math.
I am doing math. I studied mathematics. We're learning the maths.
Those are some examples. I'd not say that I'm an authority on the subject but others might indicate that I am. I'd argue with them and say that the authorities on that subject would actually be those with a background in linguistics.
As an outsider looking in and with great curiosity, I'd say that NN would *really* be something that they'd need to steer clear of assuming they had the chops to get back into academia. Barring that, I'd agree entirely. There might be some big hitters (e.g Google, Microsoft, Apple) poking in that direction and with a limited interested but, from what I'm seeing, they're pulling those employs from academia and not off the street.
I suppose, with some work, they could *build* something and then seek to hawk it, and themselves, and have some chance of success. I do not see them just saying that they've decided on a career change, taking a few online courses, reading a book or two, and then getting a job in the field.
So, basically, I'm agreeing with you with the caveat being that, if they have the chops, there's some chance at getting into a grad program and then getting some work in academia or the likes.
I'm inclined to agree with your definition, if that's any help. Or at least what it appears you're using for a definition. Free is free and we don't have such a critter in this reality. Not even in the oft-claimed Somalia are the markets (likely) free. I suspect, given the prevalence of bullies, Somalia's markets are quite heavily regulated by their participants and probably have conformity as a barrier to entry and participation - and may even include payments of dues in order to be allowed to participate.
And I still get a kick out of your name. In interest of disclosure, I've shared your username with said friend (my shore-leave Marine buddy, as a reminder) and he laughed and laughed and laughed. I believe this is verbatim, "I wish I'd thought of that." The other one that gets me is smitty_one_each. "Pair of go fasters, one each... Moonbeam, one each. Stencil, one each, shaving kit, one each." So many lines that resulted in "one each."
If they are holding you at gunpoint then you're alright. If they were going to shoot you then they'd have just shot you already and taken what they wanted.
I've been mugged and I pulled out my wallet and gave them the cash that was in it. They told me to give them my wallet and I told them that I'd not be doing that. They looked at me a little funny and took off. It's about 30 seconds of your day and feels like five minutes but you can't have my wallet. I'll give you the cash. Hell, I won't even call the cops over the cash but I'm not giving you my wallet. Hell, the guy looked nervous as hell, I had to talk to him to tell him to keep it cool before his dumb ass got caught by the cops and ended up having to threaten to hurt somebody or hurting someone.
Well, that and it was (I'm pretty sure) a Jennings.25. There's no respectable mugger with a Jennings. It's more likely to jam than it is to fire and, if it does fire, the slide will probably pop off and there's an almost zero chance of them hitting a target. Given the weight of the rounds and the light frame, they're unbalanced as all hell and this was unnaturally barrel heavy. That means it probably wasn't loaded. It seems you notice some very strange things when you're being mugged.
Why is a debit card evil? I have not one but several accounts that are tied to debit cards. When they run low, my accountant moves some money into 'em. They have loss protection on the 'net and if they're compromised and things look funny then my accountant will call me and ask if they should put money into the account. She keeps all the numbers and even separates some of them for me and does my taxes at end of the year. I do have credit cards but only a few and mostly for overseas travel. I'd like a couple more (I'm not going to carry a balance and I'd like to give my kids the airline points 'cause they could do fun things with 'em) but I have to leave my credit with a "do not issue" flag set so it's a pain in the ass.
Eh... Wouldn't 95% be better than 10% or 0%? Expecting perfection is, well, bound to lead to one not having their expectations met. High expectations don't generally seem to be met in the real world, regardless of for or not-for profit origination. Very few things are 100%.
I watched your video and I've actually taken a number of on-track driving lessons and done some course work (driving is a passion of mine). I'm not sure how immersed one can become in things like that if they're familiar with the real thing. Can you sense the RPMs? Can you feel the difference in track conditions in the shade vs. where the Sun has been beating for hours? Can you place the sounds of traffic in the appropriate places? Can you hear the difference in tire noise to know when you're nearing the point where your LA is great enough that you're on the threshold of breaking grip?
I'd think it would require a whole entire setup, perhaps including specific clothing, to be able to be what I'd really want. When you clutch (assuming a clutched vehicle) can you depress it enough to cause slippage and keep the pressure just above that? Can the input from a heel-toe be interpreted correctly? Can those be adjusted to give feedback properly? Can you tension your restraint harness to the same level - as there's a lot of feedback there? Have the physics engines improved to the point of being accurate and taking into account a variety of externalities such as differing handling characteristics dependent on fuel level? How are damage characteristics envisioned/implemented?
As an aside: They mention Skip Barber. They're not a bad outfit but you can get more private lessons for about the same expense. They'll usually want you to have some experience (you're driving a *very* expensive piece of equipment) so the Barber schools are not a bad place to start out.
I am not a gamer but I'd like something somewhere between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. It occurred to me when I was back at the early part of my current wanderlust. I was in Buffalo and headed up the Skyway to Niagara. I realized that I'd like to have something that lets me look at the highway, find out when it was built, learn what the structural ratings are, see the typical throughput, learn about the construction workers, and see the construction process. I'd like to be able to look at a building and find the layout, the history, and things like that. I'd like to take a virtual tour of the building and be able to explore it, empty or full. I'd like to redecorate a home, just an empty one, and see if it can be filled with things I find interesting. I don't want pre-created plans for that, I want it to adapt to the existing structure and then allow me to work within it.
Now, of course, I was driving at the time and I realize that this augmented reality would not work well as a driver but it'd be neat to have points of interested flash up on the HUD and readable when it is safe. It'd be interesting to be able to dig down into those points of interest but that probably shouldn't be done while one is trying to pilot an automobile. I guess it would be okay if you were a passenger.
At any rate, my real goal would be to be truly jacked into the 'net via some sort of cortex interface. I'd even let 'em attach a wireless antenna to my skull for that. Barring that, some sort of wearable might be nice for something like what I'm envisioning.
This is actually more true than some people may think. I have physically carried large sums of money to another institution and made the deposit there, in a new account, only to transfer it to one of their account holders in order to speed up the transaction. That was not even going from across any land boundaries. That was simply going across town. It was quicker for me to ask my credit union to ensure that they got enough cash brought in on the truck to cover my withdrawal, wait until the following day, and then lug it across town personally then it would have been to actually transfer the funds electronically. Time-wise, this was not that long ago - a few years back when I last did this.
Oh, no... See, I can agree with their premise. If we starve the government then necessary programs will be cut. Of course, I've yet to see a starving US (federal or state) government that actually needed to cut those programs when there were many other programs that could have been cut or eliminated and freed up the funds for more necessary things.
So, the onus is on them to show where the government was starved. Show me a government efficiently spending, in their entirety, and I'll show you a pipe dream.
That they blame it on you is laughable, of course.
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I agree entirely (on both counts). I too don't think a "free market" can exist in today's world. I suspect that, at some time in the distant past, we've had a free market at some point on this planet and in a very specific location but I'll be damned if I think it can exist today. And yes, the username has a certain distinct impression (albeit, perhaps, not the correct one) in my head. I'm kind of fond of it. ;-)
To get back to the free market. I'm a pretty staunch Libertarian and I'm not even that stupid. However, I fall on the Socialist Libertarian side of things - though I don't prefer the moniker. The ends are, in my view, similar to socialism but my reasoning and means are quite different than what might be considered typical for a socialist philosophy. I simply don't think a free market could, or should, exist. The people who seem to advocate for such don't actually appear to know what one is and would be the first to be taken advantage of.
Ah well... I agree entirely with your definition. Free is unfettered and has no restrictions. It's absurd and an idiotic goal. Yes, let's rely on the honesty of the seller and require grandma to be fluent in the intricacies to avoid ending up being hurt... That's a brilliant idea! *sighs* Sometimes it pains me to actually identify as a Libertarian because the connotations have changed.
Me: "I'd like to ask you a question to see if you're a human or a bot, would you mind if I ask you that question?"
Assuming that doesn't stump them...
Me: "What was the purpose of the question that I first asked you and what was the fourth word in that question?"
I doubt it will take me very long to figure out who is a human and who is not.
Hmm... The library in the village, when I'm home - at least, is not paid for by any taxes - they even pay taxes (albeit at a locked in rate from something like 1860 so not a whole lot in taxes). (I think their tax bill was like $6 per year and they're actually unable to increase their size because of it - or were, more on that in a minute.) See, a long time ago, someone set up a trust and a collection of books to get things started. The library was staffed with volunteers and a single poorly paid librarian. They even participate in the Inter-library Loan deal - at no cost to patrons.
Residents get a library card for free. Tourists, out of town folks, people with camps, etc. all pay a small ($10 - $25/year) fee. Electricity, heat, improvements, etc. are all done via donations.
In fact, they wanted to expand and have some extra space. They wanted to do some remodeling and the donations had provided a goodly sum towards that goal but hadn't provided everything. Doing so would have increased their taxes. A deal was struck with the town and some anonymous person donated enough money and tripled their original trust fund to ensure they can keep running in perpetuity. They can now afford the new tax, have completed the expansion, have computers and internet, upgraded the boiler (and did needed repairs), restored some of the stonework, replaced the windows, and have an emergency fund. They were able to not only meet their needs but someone came along and matched every single donation (up to $10,000) made by an individual and matched every donation (up to $25,000) for any business that was willing to donate.
That anonymous person now sits on the board of directors and, at last count, they had an investment of about 1.2e5 dollars which gave them an average of ~160k dollars for a yearly operating budget. They can now afford to provide computers, pay for two librarians, give a stipend to a few volunteers, have a couple of functions for kids and adults alike, and pay any related expenses while maintaining a budget surplus and have expansion and upgrade plans as well as prepare for emergencies. They were able to complete, with a surplus, their expansion which meant that they could get their copper roof worked on.
No tax dollars went to work on the project, the labor was paid for or was done by volunteers. Some of the material was donated - including some carving done in granite and some fascia work. It's rather nice and only took a few years to complete once the funding was in place. They probably would have managed it without the anonymous donation(s) but those certainly sped the project up and enabled them to do more and come out ahead of where they'd expected to be.
Err... I should also mention that the townsfolk are reasonably certain of who that anonymous person is as the timing is a bit suspect and it's a small town where nothing is really anonymous but they're anonymous just the same.
I guess the point is, not all libraries are funded with taxes. They don't even fund the upkeep on the lawn or even plow the parking lot with town vehicles. It's a pretty nice library that has some great patrons and some great volunteers/paid staff who really believe in the library and its benefits. Some folks have said the anonymous donations have saved the library but I personally believe they'd have met their goals anyhow but that it would have taken longer. There's still some inner debate with that anonymous person as to whether they'll be leaving their own collection behind for said library and then putting the house and some of the property into a trust that enables it to be retained by the library. Something where, with enough work, others can come and study on a more long-term basis would be ideal but that's still a matter of debate and has not been decided and may never reach fruition.
Oh, the town has fewer than 1200 residents and now has a library that exceeds most other libraries in the area in services provided and is on par with square footage equal to, or greater than, many libraries that server much larger populations. It can be done without taxes. This doesn't mean taxes shouldn't take care of it, just that it's not required.
Some years back, I had an OC12 in my connection closet that fed my server room. I'd stumbled across an inbound call router on eBay. In the interest of learning new things, we had the inbound call router connected and firewalled from the local network. If you knew the number and had a user/password (we built it all with older equipment) then you could call in and have free dial-up internet access. I don't actually have any idea how many people used it because it was the techs that took care of it all and handed the accounts out to friends and family.
I no longer own a connection closet with an OC12 and my server room is just a small rack in my basement at home and some colo equipment. It was kind of fun for a while. They were not going to allow that to remain enabled when I sold, there's no chance in hell and I didn't even ask. I still have that inbound call router, somewhere.
There are a total of 6 houses that have full-time residents in my unincorporated township. I've managed to save a good portion of the 'net over the years and can reconstruct a bunch of it or, at least, provide similar services. If SHTF and things go downhill, well, my neighbors and I will still have internet of some type or the other, at least eventually. Considering that it will have hit the fan, we might just be able to use radio and not have to worry about the FCC. I'm reasonably well equipped to do such but I lack the domain knowledge to do so. I'm reasonably certain that I can learn.
That said, I have no idea why the people on here feel entitled to free internet. As much as I personally don't prefer the site, I'm quite certain that some is better than none and I'm quite certain that this company is free to offer this free service and the various caveats - up to, and including, informed consent and tracking of user data. That includes ads, that includes walled-gardens, that includes even limited protocols and the likes. I don't want such services but I have no problem with them being offered as a choice for those who might otherwise have nothing. For me, it seems more like television. You don't have a right to view HBO. This is someone offering television in exchange for some metrics. They are not going to give you every channel for free. You'll have to pay for the additional channels.
When I'm home, I pay to visit a headshrinker or, lately, a therapist. Why? They're usually objective, honest, and able to give me feedback. I also want to ensure that I'm sane - they tell me that I am. I've been going to see a headshrinker for years and years - since I was in my 20s, though I had to see one as a kid for a spell. Depending on my schedule and my desire, I may see one every week. I can tell them the complete and total truth. I can tell them that about my thoughts and feelings and they can give me feedback and help me ensure that I'm remaining objective, logically consistent, and let me know of choices that I may not have seen on my own.
As an aside, I also like group therapy sessions but I don't attend them as a general rule. I have, in the past, done so but I felt that I was taking time and a seat away from someone who might be better served by it. Sitting in front of a group of people who are tearing into your logic and reasoning is a good thing. It helps you be more consistent and think more clearly. It enables you to be more honest with yourself and others. I'd like something a bit more tailored to my needs but sites, such as this, come fairly close. I often put more about me and my thinking online than others - it allows folks to rip into it and find fault. I'm not perfect and this lets me see flaws that I'd otherwise miss. It has been a great help. I'm able to find and read posts from many years back and the change in my ability to articulate and opine with logical consistencies and reasoning has been quite startling.
Hello $user. I am really $swear $inebriationlevel! I have some $illicitdrugs and bought too much. I need to pay my $bill, I'm getting rid of some $illicitdrugs for $lowprice and can deliver, if you're interested.
Hello Joe. I am really damned tripped right not. I have some acid and bought too much. I need to pay my car payment, I'm getting rid of some acid for $50 for a ten strip and can deliver, if you're interested.
I suppose it could scrape your post history, emails, former chats, criminal record, and then do the same for your friends and find out what you find tempting and run with that and tailor it for your needs a bit better. One company, be it Google, Apple, Microsoft, WhatsApp, or the likes - may well have information not just about you but about what your stupid contacts admit to online and be able to craft some very specific and insightful messages - in an entirely automated fashion.
Entrapment restrictions may still apply. I am not sure that those regulations are as strong as they once were, however. In the interest of stopping drug use and prosecuting pedophilia we appear to have been willing to weaken those protections. To be fair, that we don't likely include either you or I but, given our lack of action, they've concluded that we consent to such. After all, are you going to speak out on the rights of the pedophile? That is, of course, also a generic you but it may be you in particular.
Does that one case involve a president and someone making threats toward said president? If that's the case, I recall that one. I can't think of any others. I've seen lots of people *claim* they were censored and even found a glitch or two but I don't know of any other instances where a post has been deleted. I do know that they won't let you say certain things in certain ways. I guess we could call those censorship.
Sometimes, a reply will not show up in threads that exceed a certain size. I don't know what happens but you can actually see the reply by clicking on the parent comment and viewing it as a single thread. You can look at the whole thread in a new browser, with a new IP address, not logged in, and it will still be missing. But, if you click the parent comment and open that up by itself then it is there.
It gets even more odd... That same comment *must* be visible to someone else because I had a recent comment, in a long thread, that had this happen and yet someone found it and replied. However, I checked with multiple IP addresses, various browsers, several different devices, and finally a phone. I used two VMs - I literally checked like a dozen different ways. The comment never once appeared directly but did appear, every time, when I clicked the parent comment's ID # and opened it as a single thread.
I'd not call that censorship. I'd call that a bug. I only noticed because I had refreshed the page and was unable to see my comment. I figured the thread was lagging and the database was flaky. So, I did some poking. I then noticed that the comment had attracted no moderation - I'm pretty good at knowing what comments I make will be moderated and in which direction. (The difference is that I don't really give two shits about the moderation. I just happen to see a pattern and appear to be able to make fairly accurate predictions.)
So, some folks may be thinking their being censored but it's more a glitch than anything else. I can probably find the comment easily enough - I recall it quite specifically. I'll refrain from posting it as I'm actually glad that it did end up the way it ended up - as I was scolding a rather famous person for logical inconsistencies and there's no need for others to be involved in it.
Oh, and had I made this comment earlier it might have been modded up. I'd have expected it to be insightful of interesting by someone's standards. However, the post is now way back on the 2nd page and will probably be on the 3rd by the time the average American is awake (more USians) so it's unlikely to be noticed. At best, it might get a couple of points but probably none at all. Though, by mentioning it, someone may mod it troll to be funny - or off-topic.
Either way, that was how I noticed the bug, what I found while investigating the bug, and why some people may think they're being censored when they're not actually being censored. It's hard telling but I figured I'd toss this into the mental mix. Other than the incident with the president, I don't know of anything being censored. If I did, well, I'd certainly not have kept screen shots. It's not like I regularly scrape the comments section and I kind of doubt that others do. At least not as a general rule.
They say that they have Touring Complete bots. I have seen, I've read with great interest, these conversations and some of these results. I should like to be administered a blind test. I've tried a number of online variations - with zeal and great hope, since the very, very early days. I've yet to find one that even remotely would have come close to fooling me into thinking the were human. Not even the one with bad grammar would have (I think) fooled me.
I've asked them all a few, very specifically targeted, questions and have always managed to make them give a non-answer. That's the great indicator. You can see the flaws pretty quickly. I am nothing special. I am not super intelligent. I'm just observant.
Again, nothing logically inconsistent or anything in specific that I'd argue - other than it's not my fault that people are inattentive and willfully ignorant. It's hard to say it's not their fault when we've the sum of human knowledge available for the low barrier of entry that is learning to use a search engine effectively. I'm unfamiliar with your age, I suspect you're probably about 10-15 years my junior (I'm 58), but the Libertarian party was represented, by the media, as the loony left while the Republicans still held sway. Now, with the Democrats holding a bit more power, there has been a swing in perspective. To be fair, there's also been a shift in participants.
We'll let anyone into the party and we'll let everyone have the microphone. I dare say, it'd be antithetical to not do so. That said, it's disheartening to see the party represented so but it is what some actively believe. I prefer to call them Randians. I also prefer to refer to some as Ashamed Republicans who are not actually aware of the platform and somehow think that Libertarianism is some sort of right-wing ideal. I often, as of late, say that Ayn Rand was an idiot and Rand Paul is not a Libertarian.
The rest, for the most part, I can agree with and you said it a bit better than I think I would have. I'm a bit on the fence with it being mandatory so, in return, I'd submit that it not be mandatory that certain benefits would apply if you participated. Something akin to the GI Bill springs to mind, as does VA care, etc... (The VA is not as bad, in my experience, as some might have others believe.)
Oddly, I'm not sure I've really ever agreed with you this much in the past. Duly noted. Kudos for the logical consistency and, in hindsight, more of your commentary makes sense. Finding logical consistency, including intellectual honesty, is a rarity in these parts. One of the reasons that I value this site is that there are some members who force me to justify my beliefs and give me cause to review them for inconsistencies. I'm one of the odd folks who is comfortable with making mistakes and learning from them. I'm quite happy to change my mind and opinion when I'm presented with new factual information.
Oh, I'm sort of retired. I have had the need to return to my old business and give some assistance and I am still not, technically, retired. I use the word 'retired' because it's easier to use. I not only invest but I also do some fairly local, in person, investing in small businesses for friends and family. I sit on the board at a local credit union but I am mostly there to give tech recommendations, maybe some research, and things of that nature - though I have a vote, I often abstain. I keep my hand in a bunch of small things. I try to keep my fingers on the pulse of tech, business, and politics.
Finally, I'm running for office and quite likely to win the seat as State Senator. I am not doing this because I want to, I can assure you that I've more interesting things to do with my time. I'm doing so because I've been asked a number of times, can afford to fund my own campaign, and feel it part of the social contract. (Maine has many similarities with Alaska and even a few similarities with Texas.) I'll accept and perform the job for one round and one round only. During that time, I'll see if I can get someone else interested in taking my place and aid them. If they want to elect them, after I'm done, then all the better. I have no interest in serving longer than one term and I do not even want to serve that term - I just kind of owe it, I've been served well enough in the past (as is obviated by my success).
It's not entirely altruism. I don't want to be the person in power. They're subject to many things that I'd like to avoid. I'd much rather have the ear and favor of the person in power.
I am from the US, hold a Ph.D in Applied Mathematics, and call it maths, mathematics, or sometimes math.
I am doing math.
I studied mathematics.
We're learning the maths.
Those are some examples. I'd not say that I'm an authority on the subject but others might indicate that I am. I'd argue with them and say that the authorities on that subject would actually be those with a background in linguistics.
As an outsider looking in and with great curiosity, I'd say that NN would *really* be something that they'd need to steer clear of assuming they had the chops to get back into academia. Barring that, I'd agree entirely. There might be some big hitters (e.g Google, Microsoft, Apple) poking in that direction and with a limited interested but, from what I'm seeing, they're pulling those employs from academia and not off the street.
I suppose, with some work, they could *build* something and then seek to hawk it, and themselves, and have some chance of success. I do not see them just saying that they've decided on a career change, taking a few online courses, reading a book or two, and then getting a job in the field.
So, basically, I'm agreeing with you with the caveat being that, if they have the chops, there's some chance at getting into a grad program and then getting some work in academia or the likes.
It's Slashdot 4.0 (by my count). "What are the hot tips to get into AI and start making money fast!?!"
It's an improvement from, "Three tricks to make SystemD even faster!"
I'm inclined to agree with your definition, if that's any help. Or at least what it appears you're using for a definition. Free is free and we don't have such a critter in this reality. Not even in the oft-claimed Somalia are the markets (likely) free. I suspect, given the prevalence of bullies, Somalia's markets are quite heavily regulated by their participants and probably have conformity as a barrier to entry and participation - and may even include payments of dues in order to be allowed to participate.
And I still get a kick out of your name. In interest of disclosure, I've shared your username with said friend (my shore-leave Marine buddy, as a reminder) and he laughed and laughed and laughed. I believe this is verbatim, "I wish I'd thought of that." The other one that gets me is smitty_one_each. "Pair of go fasters, one each... Moonbeam, one each. Stencil, one each, shaving kit, one each." So many lines that resulted in "one each."
There's a huge difference between keeping them out and not allowing them the power to be sole decision makers.
If they are holding you at gunpoint then you're alright. If they were going to shoot you then they'd have just shot you already and taken what they wanted.
I've been mugged and I pulled out my wallet and gave them the cash that was in it. They told me to give them my wallet and I told them that I'd not be doing that. They looked at me a little funny and took off. It's about 30 seconds of your day and feels like five minutes but you can't have my wallet. I'll give you the cash. Hell, I won't even call the cops over the cash but I'm not giving you my wallet. Hell, the guy looked nervous as hell, I had to talk to him to tell him to keep it cool before his dumb ass got caught by the cops and ended up having to threaten to hurt somebody or hurting someone.
Well, that and it was (I'm pretty sure) a Jennings .25. There's no respectable mugger with a Jennings. It's more likely to jam than it is to fire and, if it does fire, the slide will probably pop off and there's an almost zero chance of them hitting a target. Given the weight of the rounds and the light frame, they're unbalanced as all hell and this was unnaturally barrel heavy. That means it probably wasn't loaded. It seems you notice some very strange things when you're being mugged.
Why is a debit card evil? I have not one but several accounts that are tied to debit cards. When they run low, my accountant moves some money into 'em. They have loss protection on the 'net and if they're compromised and things look funny then my accountant will call me and ask if they should put money into the account. She keeps all the numbers and even separates some of them for me and does my taxes at end of the year. I do have credit cards but only a few and mostly for overseas travel. I'd like a couple more (I'm not going to carry a balance and I'd like to give my kids the airline points 'cause they could do fun things with 'em) but I have to leave my credit with a "do not issue" flag set so it's a pain in the ass.
The same question could be asked of you. You don't actually know any Libertarians, do you?
Eh... Wouldn't 95% be better than 10% or 0%? Expecting perfection is, well, bound to lead to one not having their expectations met. High expectations don't generally seem to be met in the real world, regardless of for or not-for profit origination. Very few things are 100%.
I watched your video and I've actually taken a number of on-track driving lessons and done some course work (driving is a passion of mine). I'm not sure how immersed one can become in things like that if they're familiar with the real thing. Can you sense the RPMs? Can you feel the difference in track conditions in the shade vs. where the Sun has been beating for hours? Can you place the sounds of traffic in the appropriate places? Can you hear the difference in tire noise to know when you're nearing the point where your LA is great enough that you're on the threshold of breaking grip?
I'd think it would require a whole entire setup, perhaps including specific clothing, to be able to be what I'd really want. When you clutch (assuming a clutched vehicle) can you depress it enough to cause slippage and keep the pressure just above that? Can the input from a heel-toe be interpreted correctly? Can those be adjusted to give feedback properly? Can you tension your restraint harness to the same level - as there's a lot of feedback there? Have the physics engines improved to the point of being accurate and taking into account a variety of externalities such as differing handling characteristics dependent on fuel level? How are damage characteristics envisioned/implemented?
As an aside: They mention Skip Barber. They're not a bad outfit but you can get more private lessons for about the same expense. They'll usually want you to have some experience (you're driving a *very* expensive piece of equipment) so the Barber schools are not a bad place to start out.
I am not a gamer but I'd like something somewhere between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. It occurred to me when I was back at the early part of my current wanderlust. I was in Buffalo and headed up the Skyway to Niagara. I realized that I'd like to have something that lets me look at the highway, find out when it was built, learn what the structural ratings are, see the typical throughput, learn about the construction workers, and see the construction process. I'd like to be able to look at a building and find the layout, the history, and things like that. I'd like to take a virtual tour of the building and be able to explore it, empty or full. I'd like to redecorate a home, just an empty one, and see if it can be filled with things I find interesting. I don't want pre-created plans for that, I want it to adapt to the existing structure and then allow me to work within it.
Now, of course, I was driving at the time and I realize that this augmented reality would not work well as a driver but it'd be neat to have points of interested flash up on the HUD and readable when it is safe. It'd be interesting to be able to dig down into those points of interest but that probably shouldn't be done while one is trying to pilot an automobile. I guess it would be okay if you were a passenger.
At any rate, my real goal would be to be truly jacked into the 'net via some sort of cortex interface. I'd even let 'em attach a wireless antenna to my skull for that. Barring that, some sort of wearable might be nice for something like what I'm envisioning.
Hmm... Not many people refer to the USN as "squids." In fact, they're usually few and proud - at least in my observations.
This is actually more true than some people may think. I have physically carried large sums of money to another institution and made the deposit there, in a new account, only to transfer it to one of their account holders in order to speed up the transaction. That was not even going from across any land boundaries. That was simply going across town. It was quicker for me to ask my credit union to ensure that they got enough cash brought in on the truck to cover my withdrawal, wait until the following day, and then lug it across town personally then it would have been to actually transfer the funds electronically. Time-wise, this was not that long ago - a few years back when I last did this.
2.27 MFt to 1.0 AFt.
Oh, no... See, I can agree with their premise. If we starve the government then necessary programs will be cut. Of course, I've yet to see a starving US (federal or state) government that actually needed to cut those programs when there were many other programs that could have been cut or eliminated and freed up the funds for more necessary things.
So, the onus is on them to show where the government was starved. Show me a government efficiently spending, in their entirety, and I'll show you a pipe dream.
That they blame it on you is laughable, of course.
Does gas count as petroleum?