Tired of constant bickering
So I'm out of here. Thanks for all the fish Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Obama and the 'Drug Killer'
Andrew Crystall wrote: It seems to me that the free market does a poor job in this regard; It seems to me the government does a poor job in this regard. I don't want a bunch of politicians deciding which drugs to spend my money on. I'm perfectly capable of deciding for myself. Well, that narrows down your profession nicely, Dr. Williams. Also wrote: Sorry Julia, but bullshit. It's precisely the same - attacking someone because they don't agree with your views. If religion, lack of religion, politics, creed, colour or whatever is used by the criminal as their excuse is quite, afaik, irrelevant. Talk about confrontational behaviour, Andrew -- did you forget your coffee this morning? Have another valium and try get some rest, huh? As for the militant Athiest -- he could just as easily have been Muslim or Christian. Basically, he's just a nutcase. His beliefs don't really come into it. C Grumpy and tired Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Channeling...
I demand to have some booze! 10 points to anyone who can determine which movie that comes from. Curtis. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dave Land Sent: 30 September 2008 02:09 AM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: Channeling... \On Sep 29, 2008, at 12:54 PM, Jon Louis Mann wrote: In this case, Jon claims that John Williams is channeling erstwhile list-member Eric Rueter with his gruff posts. I don't recall a list member of that name, but there was an Erik Reuter. OK, Mr. Spelling Person, I stand corrected :-). Dave as i said before it was not i... My apologies. Credit for introducing the You are X and I demand my Y meme goes to Rob. Thanks for helping me remember that it is Erik, not Eric. I was fooled by Rob's message, I think. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Channeling...
10 points to Charlie!! And, in answer to your questions: Yes, no, and yes! Curtis Get in the back of the van Maru! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charlie Bell Sent: 30 September 2008 11:49 AM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: Channeling... On 30/09/2008, at 6:24 PM, Curtis Burisch wrote: I demand to have some booze! 10 points to anyone who can determine which movie that comes from. Withnail and I, you terrible c**t. So, can you construct a Camberwell Carrot? Do you cover yourself in Deep Heat to stay warm? Have you gone 60 hours with the only solid passing your lips being a raw spud? Charlie. Too Easy Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Economic Recovery Plan
10,000 bucks would make a difference -- an extra $1000 a month for 10 months would almost certainly ease the situation. The problem is not the debt itself, but the increased cost of servicing that debt that has resulted from higher interest rates. Curtis -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alberto Monteiro Sent: 30 September 2008 13:09 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: Economic Recovery Plan Jon Louis Mann wrote: Instead of a 700 billion dollar bailout for corporate America, loan that money to qualified American families who need to save their home. Bail out homeowners, rather than banks; that should solve the housing crisis. Each family would get... hmmm... 10,000 dollars? Sort of. It would hardly scratch the problem, since, AFAIK, each family's debts are about two magnitudes highter than that. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: $10
Zimbabwe dollars? That's about ZWD$2,000 in today's money, or ZWD$20,000,000,000,000,000 (twenty quadrillion dollars) as it would have been had the currency not been devalued twice, chopping off 13 zeros in the process. Regards, Curtis. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charlie Bell Sent: 29 September 2008 11:23 AM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: $10 On 27/09/2008, at 4:17 AM, Jon Louis Mann wrote: In this case, Jon claims that John Williams is channeling erstwhile list-member Eric Rueter with his gruff posts. Dave i guess eric was before my time, but i am not the one who accused jw of channeling eric, i doubt jw is on that level. i do suspect that jw is using an alias. i wonder have much five pounds is in today's dollars? AU$11.05, US$9.14, S$13.07, BD3.45, BND13.26 Any other dollars you need to know about? Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: ITAR and space based solar power.
One of my friends thinks my concept work on reducing the cost of materials transport by sub orbital rocket and multi GW propulsion laser would not cause me any trouble even if I went on a lecture tour about it in China. Others think I would be arrested and jailed for Two sides to this. First is, if anyone has the quadrillions of dollars required to actually implement your considerably audacious plan, they will assuredly have enough money to develop other, more destructive weapons, for lower cost. The second is, you don't need a massive space based laser to cause massive damage. Simply strap a booster to any moderately sized asteroid, and nudge it toward the earthbound target. Cheap and very very dangerous. c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Science and Ideals.
On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 1:26 PM, Charlie Bell [EMAIL PROTECTED]wrote: You've hit on something that's both profound and irrelevant. The universe is stranger than we can imagine :) C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: For the sake of discussion...
On Sun, 21 Sep 2008, Julia Thompson wrote: i'm not ashamed to admit that i make lots of mistakes. does that make me an idiot? that's how i learn... Well, if that's how you *learn*, you're still open to learning, and if someone is open to learning, they are, IMO, *not* an idiot. Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. -- Albert Einstein c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: For the sake of discussion...
On Mon, 22 Sep 2008, Julia Thompson wrote: i'm not ashamed to admit that i make lots of mistakes. does that make me an idiot? that's how i learn... Well, if that's how you *learn*, you're still open to learning, and if someone is open to learning, they are, IMO, *not* an idiot. Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. -- Albert Einstein If you make a different mistake each time, that doesn't fit the definition. :) And if you're actually *learning* from your mistakes, you're not likely to make the same one too many times. Precisely his point :) C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Brief greetings of the day . . .
Don't you mean Arrr!! Happy 'Talk-Like-A-Pirate' day! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ronn! Blankenship Sent: 19 September 2008 12:27 PM To: Killer Bs Discussion Subject: Brief greetings of the day . . . r ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Welcome to Hyperinflation!
Zimbabwe inflation rate is around 810% **per month** ! c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alberto Monteiro Sent: 29 August 2008 14:31 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Welcome to Hyperinflation! I was just checking the evolution of PPI (PPI and CPI measure inflation in the USA), and noticed that _this year_ the accumulated inflation is about 10% (!!!) Welcome to Hyperinflation. If you want any hints on how to survive and prosper under hyperinflation, just ask me. Brazil had it for decades. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Apology (was Re: Off-topic., monotonous posting (wasChild-killing religion))
I can't speak for other members of the list's silent majority. I, for one, see another news article on some cult or its members run amok,yawn, and hit Delete. I second that lack of emotion. c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Alastair Reynolds
I'm not sure what that change of direction is, House Of Suns reads just like all his others. Is the idea that it is more character focussed? I didn't see any evidence of this. I really loved House of Suns!! c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: The First Event
Reality is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so. -- Douglas Adams -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Julia Thompson Sent: 05 August 2008 14:43 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: The First Event On Tue, 5 Aug 2008, Alberto Monteiro wrote: Jon Louis Mann wrote: who was it that postulated that reality is an illusion? Someone before Descartes. Are we talking Plato's cave here, or something later? Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: The First Event
My apologies -- an imperfect memory serves me imperfectly. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charlie Bell Sent: 05 August 2008 16:25 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: The First Event On 05/08/2008, at 11:14 PM, Curtis Burisch wrote: Reality is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so. Sorry: Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so. If you want to be precise. Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Religion kills
To me, what you have said is like saying that those killed on 9/11 in the WTC died from greed, since they were there to work. Isn't that the obvious conclusion?!!!??? Curtis Blatant Troll Maru :) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Dollar a gallon gasoline
I'm a little skeptical on this. There have been so many rosy forecasts over the years for fusion, and they never seem to pan out. Fusion is 30 years away, and always will be. I'm well aware of this statement, and it's held true so far -- but to date people have focused on tokamak fusion devices, which are probably never going to work. As a matter of fact, IEC fusion devices have been built and they do in fact produce a measurable fusion reaction. c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Dollar a gallon gasoline
I am not optimistic that this will be done. If this or some other really huge supply of primary energy is not found, we are going to be in for some nasty times. The other way the energy crisis will be solved is for the world population to fall to about a billion. so we face either a collapse, or the singularity? either one will solve the problem... will any other brinlisters be at denvention, and are there plans to meet? It's an unstable situation, implying change. One way or another it will sort itself out. For what it's worth, I'm pretty confident we'll sort the energy crisis out completely within the next five years or so. C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Dollar a gallon gasoline
In what way, specifically? It's an unstable situation, implying change. One way or another it will sort itself out. If we run out of energy, it will be a global catastrophe where billions die. We will adapt to the new conditions. Stabilization achieved. If we find a new source of energy, the situation will stabilize. For what it's worth, I'm pretty confident we'll sort the energy crisis out completely within the next five years or so. 1. New solar technologies 2. Fusion (read up on IEC fusion; there are also another two very promising new fusion technologies. One or all of these will definitely work. Maybe more likely 15 years, not 5.) Regards, Curtis. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Bah. When I tried to watch it, it said 'Video no longer available'. When I went to the site today, it said proudly 'Exclusively on iTunes' !!! Seems I'll never get to see this. Which is a shame :( c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of William T Goodall Sent: 17 July 2008 20:23 PM To: Brin-L Subject: Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog http://www.drhorrible.com/ Anyone not watching this? Cultural Event Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Theists cannot be trusted as they believe that right and wrong are the arbitrary proclamations of invisible demons. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
If you have broadband, maybe I can get them from you via my private ftp server? c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charlie Bell Sent: 22 July 2008 13:28 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog On 22/07/2008, at 8:15 PM, Curtis Burisch wrote: Bah. When I tried to watch it, it said 'Video no longer available'. When I went to the site today, it said proudly 'Exclusively on iTunes' !!! Seems I'll never get to see this. Which is a shame :( There are avis floating about. If you have no luck finding one, I can probably dvd them. C. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Chicken and Egg
You might not be aware, but the constant annoying security warnings in Vista are nothing more than 'security theatre' -- i.e. they make you feel safer, without actually doing anything meaningful. Vista is no more secure because of these annoying prompts -- coders with malicious intent just work around this 'feature'. Sorry, I don't have a link handy but this was on The Register or Slashdot a couple months back. Cheers Curtis -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bruce Bostwick Sent: 15 July 2008 16:23 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: Chicken and Egg There's a lot to be said for platforms that don't allow people to execute foreign code on them without your permission. (Especially if they prompt you for permission without being so intrusive about it that you have to turn the prompting off to avoid the constant interruptions.) There's also a lot to be said for platforms that don't make it easy for attackers to hide their executable files and running processes from the user. I'm just saying .. :) On Jul 14, 2008, at 8:17 PM, William T Goodall wrote: On 14 Jul 2008, at 22:58, Lance A. Brown wrote: William T Goodall said the following on 7/14/2008 2:53 PM: So how do you download the patches if you can't put an unpatched Windows computer on the internet? You don't hook it directly to the Internet. If you are on a broadband connection, get a router or wireless access point with an integrated switch and connect your cable or dsl modem to the router or access point, then plug your new windows computer into that. This lets the router take all the scans and intrusion attempts and as long as you are careful where you browse to, you can download the security updates without compromising your machine. The router of course is running an embedded version of Linux :-) Without patches Maru It's Throw Open Our Doors to People Who Want to Discuss Things That We Could Care Less About Day. -- Toby Ziegler ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: wtg: are you ok?
If this can happen in an advanced European country how many thousands of sex-slave basements must there be in a backward country like the USA? That's exactly my point. Worldwide there must be thousans of undiscovered basements. c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Brin: Probably not what you meant by Transparency
I had heard about this from a recent post on, I forget -- either el reg or Slashdot. Nowhere was there an implication that it was fake. It's possible this _particular_ url is fake, but there certainly is a real one floating about, whether it's this one or not. Personally I think it's a truly great idea. As for 'a $549 value' application, we can all be certain that this is pure thumbsuck material. Rgds c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nick Arnett Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 4:25 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: Brin: Probably not what you meant by Transparency On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 6:38 AM, Alberto Monteiro [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: A site that plots people convicted by crimes in a map: http://www.felonspy.com/search.html You think it's not DB's idea of transparency because of the nature of it... or because it is totally fake? Because it is, you know. Totally fake. And so is the site it links to, about medical adoptions. And the dog fighting one... which means the $549 value free dog fight tracking software is fake, too. Nick Check Snopes Maru -- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] Messages: 408-904-7198 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: polyandry
but what would happen to the excess women? Isn't that where the polygamists come into the equation? :D lol Rgds c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Bio fuels
A: None of the above, because they all contribute to world hunger. Ethanol manufactured from atmosphere processing plants powered by solar energy is the correct answer. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of jon louis mann Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 10:07 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Bio fuels which is better for ethanol; sugar cane, corn, switch grass, soy or hemp?~) jon Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Bio fuels
which is better for ethanol; sugar cane, corn, switch grass, soy or hemp?~) Malt and hops... Drink it, don't burn it. Hey, I like this guy! I like they way he thinks! Rgds C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Bio fuels
What about algae the produce large amounts of complex hydrocarbons per unit of input sunlight, as the syn biology proposal I mentioned would do. Granted, it's a tough job as Charlie pointed out, but the price of equipment for synthetic biology is falling faster than Moore's lawso there is at least a reasonable chance that something like this could work in 5-25 years. And algae or photosynthetic bacteria breed fast, so evolutionary biology as well as synthetic biology and genetics may have a large role to play. Efficiency is sub-1%, and we need to use the surface of this planet efficiently. Sorry, this doesn't cut it. Rgds C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Facial hair and computer languages :)
http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/tamir/archive/2008/04/28/computer-languag es-and-facial-hair-take-two.aspx ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Looking for the mouse
Excellent, excellent article posted on Slashdot today: http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html Clay Shirky has been giving talks on his book Here Comes Everybody - his masterpiece, per Cory Doctorow - and BoingBoing picks up one of http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/27/death-of-the-sitcom.html them, from the Web 2.0 conference. Shirky has come up with a quantification http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html of the attention that TV has been absorbing for more than half a century. Shirky defines as a unit of attention the Wikipedia: 100 million person-hours of thought. As a society we have been burning 2,000 Wikipedias per year watching mostly sitcoms. We're stopping now. Here's a video of another http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/events/2008/02/shirky information-dense Shirky talk, this one at Harvard. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007)
Printers can operate either in EPS mode (Encapsulated Postscript) or you can write an image directly to them. In EPS mode the printer decides what font to use, and in image mode the computer itself generates the bitmaps from its own fonts. (HPs will use PCL, Page Control Language, which is similar in concept to EPS) I'm not keen on printers -- I haven't had one at home for years -- so I don't know exactly what options will be available to you to resolve this. Also I've probably misstated a couple of important facts, but what it boils down to is that your printer is generating the page and doesn't have the right fonts available. Getting the PC to generate the final print image will sidestep this issue. It's also worth noting that printing will be a lot slower once you've done this. HTH, c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lance A. Brown Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 10:31 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007) David Hobby wrote: But that is the configuration. One computer, one printer, and an old-style cable between them. (It's unfortunate that it wouldn't work well over a network, but I've had problems too. Another story...) That sucks. I'd make sure you have the correct driver installed for the printer. It's about the only variable left in that setup. --[Lance] -- GPG Fingerprint: 409B A409 A38D 92BF 15D9 6EEE 9A82 F2AC 69AC 07B9 CACert.org Assurer ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007)
On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 1:15 AM, Dave Land [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: it is probably OK for me to say that the best/most cost-effective PDF output I've obtained comes free via the Preview button on every Mac OS X print dialog, and works in every application, not just Office. I use PDFCreator, which is open-source and works great for me. It installs on your system as a printer driver. http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/ HTH, c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: An interesting response
Reality check. Coal power is about 0.04 cents / kWh I'm in the solar biz. The reality is: Orbital stations are operational for 100% of the time. Earthbound stations are operational at most 50% of the time (because of the day/night cycle). But orbital stations cost a LOT more to get going. This eliminates any advantage you might get from the 50% power gain, and then some. I'm a proponent of earthbound CPV systems, and am actively seeking investment in my particular design. I know this industry inside and out, and can tell you straight out that orbital power gen systems will simply not fly, for cost-effectiveness reasons. Regards, Curtis. With very expensive receivers you can get about 40% efficiency. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charlie Bell Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 1:40 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: An interesting response On 18/04/2008, at 7:16 AM, hkhenson wrote: At 12:00 PM 4/17/2008, Dan M wrote: Nothing works 100% of the time, but lets assume a 95% efficiency, or running 8322 hours/year. The cost is, then, about $39 per kWh. If you do it this way, the cost the next year is zero. That's not good accounting. These things should run for decades. If you wrote it off in 10 years, it would be $3.90 a kWh. Ah yes. I totally missed that part of Dan's calculation, despite the fact I used precisely the correct calculation in my own roof-top solar calculation - I blame my flu. Fucking schoolboy error. So - assuming a yearly running cost at 10% of start-up, that's still about 5 bucks a kwh. So comparable to rooftop solar, but with massively more startup cost. Hmmm. So why's it better? C. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007)
What else is like this... endless upgrades to convince people that their perfectly good old product is obsolete? The one that really gets me is razor blades. Does anyone really need 5 blades vibrated by a small motor to shave? Is the new Gillette FusionPower Phenom with 5 blades and onboard microchip for consistent power that much better that the 4 blade model from last year or the 3 blade SensorExcel from a couple of years ago? Gillete's dictum : give away the razors, charge the hell out of 'em for the blades. This kinda backfired, where I'm from. Sensor II razor was so popular they were forced to continue selling the blades ever after. I'm on a 15 year old razor, buying a blade every 2 months. The modern innovations do not impress. I give gilette like around a dollar a month, and I don't begrudge them that. It's a great razor, with great blades. Screw the 3 and 4 blade things, they don't do it for me. So yah. C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007)
It _is_ an improvement, if you give it a chance. Where over the years the Menus became nearly non-sensical containers of cruft (what was the difference between the old Edit menu and Tools or Insert? schnipp I'm a software engineer, and I hate the new ribbon interface -- yet it's pervasive: all of the new applications I'm writing incorporate this. I'm writing this stuff. Yet I hate it. Maybe one day it will grow on me -- but not yet. Have some pity for the poor techies who're forced into the new paradigm! c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007)
Yah well I'm as I said an IT pro, so the beardy look doesn't quite cut it. Much as I'd love to live on pemmican in the appalacians for the rest of my life, things just aren't that simple. So go figure. Clean shaven gets me a nearly US-equivalent salary in a third-world country, and I'm not about to shit on Gilette for that. c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lance A. Brown Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 8:28 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007) Curtis Burisch wrote: This kinda backfired, where I'm from. Sensor II razor was so popular they were forced to continue selling the blades ever after. I'm on a 15 year old razor, buying a blade every 2 months. The modern innovations do not impress. I give gilette like around a dollar a month, and I don't begrudge them that. It's a great razor, with great blades. Screw the 3 and 4 blade things, they don't do it for me. Or go like me. I've not put a razor to my face in something like 18 years or so. I forget. I did shave my head for a while after doing away with my thinned out pony tail, but gave that up for the stubbly look a trimmer leaves. Much easier to maintain and actually looks better on my dome. :-) --[Lance] -- GPG Fingerprint: 409B A409 A38D 92BF 15D9 6EEE 9A82 F2AC 69AC 07B9 CACert.org Assurer ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007)
So, KR and frikkin Ken Thompson FTW. So? Is there a point forthcoming?? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of William T Goodall Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 9:08 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007) On 24 Apr 2008, at 19:31, Curtis Burisch wrote: Yah well I'm as I said an IT pro, so the beardy look doesn't quite cut it. Much as I'd love to live on pemmican in the appalacians for the rest of my life, things just aren't that simple. So go figure. Clean shaven gets me a nearly US-equivalent salary in a third-world country, and I'm not about to shit on Gilette for that. http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~bwk/ http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/who/dmr/index.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Thompson And sandals Maru. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ The three chief virtues of a programmer are: Laziness, Impatience and Hubris - Larry Wall ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: An interesting response
Coal power is about 0.04 cents / kWh Whoops. That was supposed to be 4 cents / kWh. I also neglected to mention the following stats that may be of interest: Power in earth orbit: 1300 W/m^2 Power at earth surface: 1000 W/m^2 Regards, Curtis. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
sucky sucky junkscience.com
In the past few days, since I've become aware of this site, I've been reading it avidly - with horror. No idea who funds these guys, but it's clear they're not the good guys. Check it out if you dare : http://www.junkscience.com/ Their beliefs are primarily centred around global-warming-denial. Phoo. 'Junk Science' indeed! It revolves heavily about politics, it appears to me; what these guys are trying to achieve is totally beyond me. I can only at this point watch their antics. I'd like to say they are going to fail abjectly, but clearly they have a respectably large readership. In fact I'm probably failing my own duties as a human being simply by drawing yet more attention to this site - however, I'm compelled to do so, simply because they are doing wrong and therefore it's my duty to draw attention to them amongst those who are conceivably concur with my own opinions. No? Comments requested! Regards, Curtis. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: ***SPAM*** Re: Battlestar Galactica
There have been between two- and three-hundred new sf novels published in English every year since the seventies, and probably the sixties when the paperback boom began. SF as a recognisable genre has been published since the nineteenth century with Wells and Verne. SF magazines began in the 1920s and are still published today. That's around 10,000 SF novels published just since 1960 and another 5000 or so before, and 5000 or so issues of SF magazines. That's about 20,000 books worth of reading. I've read around 15% of that and I think I've read a great deal of science fiction :) Oops. Appears I overestimated my own coverage by a large margin. I've probably only read somewhere in the region of 5%, if your stats are accurate! But, this is the vast majority of SF I've ever come across or been able to get hold of. I've heard there is no filler in the fourth season though! Yay! Bring on the space battles! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Battlestar Galactica
Interesting premise, reasonably executed. What makes it stand out are the long long (long) takes, 4 and 5 minute action sequences done with steadycam. Great stuff. I noticed that take, and rewound to watch it no less than 3 times. Great cameraman there, great teamwork in a LARGE cast, and great continuity. I've worked in many stage plays and been in several cinema productions; my experiences have sensitized me to the brutally extreme sensitivity of long takes such as the one you mention to even the slightest error, so my admiration for the scene you mention is nothing but extreme. My personal theory is they tried to push this scene all the way to the exit boat, but that inevitable snafus prevented them from being able to accomplish this. I give them enormous credit for what they did manage to accomplish, though! C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: ***SPAM*** Re: Battlestar Galactica
Anyway, I hate it when someone criticizes my favorite shows, so I guess I should have known better. I have to disagree with William's response in the strongest possible terms -- not your response, Olin (what an unusual and wonderful name!) I have read almost all science fiction ever published, and my biggest gripe with the genre is that there are not enough authors publishing enough works to satisfy my appetite. If it comes to the crunch, the reason I adore BSG as much as I do is that the cinematics astound me. The shaky 'home movie' effects during the space battles; the authentically weathered hulls of the ostensibly ancient human ships; even the easy-to-accomplish (yet incredibly difficult to ensure a scitentifically-convincing appearance) thermonuclear explosions, all combine to overwhelm me with pure appreciation of the art of making science fiction movies as embodied in what the art crew of this series has managed to accomplish. Yet this is not the reason I've given this series a five-star rating. Like 'Children of Men' I was literally moved to tears on many occasions whilst watching it. Several episodes had a vehemently emotional impact on me, to the point of sporadic lacrimation. There have been a few slow episodes, whose lack of compelling content has been attributed to excessively long story arcs (as a result of the producers overextending the story arc) however for the most part BSG have seldom disappointed me. The fairly powerful love/hate relationship between Kara Thrace and Captain Adama (the junior) enthralled me for some time. Personally I experienced a powerful attraction to Kara! It's been a slightly mixed bag so far; I personally am not a critic, but I loved it to bits would love to see several more series, not to mention many, many movies :) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Battlestar Galactica
The first one only came out today in the UK! They are doing a bunch of films, aren't they? Is it one for each main character? Oh, don't you have internet in UK? I'm in SA, saw the movie about a month ago :) Didn't know they were doing one per character, but I suppose it makes sense. Saw the Simpsons movie last night. Yawn. Saw Children of Men a few days ago. If you haven't seen this movie, you haven't lived. On IMDB, one critic wrote [this movie] restored my faith in cinema. PS BSG is balls. I'm not talking to you any more. Sniff. Curtis Insert something witty here Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Battlestar Galactica
That was not disappointing. Best televised sci-fi series EVER. Ok, so there were a couple of slow points in the plotline. But I can't wait for the rest of the series. And the movie. Disappointed I WILL be when it all ends :( On another note, I also loved Futurama. There's a second Futurama movie coming out soon, FYI. c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
A new topic.
I loved that movie, I've seen it many times. Anyhoo -- 1. April Fools -- in my experience, this has always been strictly an until-midday affair. Fun, but come 12pm midday you come clean and apologise :) (where necessary :D ) 2. Zimbabwe. I'm from Zim, originally -- so the whole election thing has pushed most of the buttons I have that can be pushed. I'm throwing a party as a result of the unthinkable actually happening-- all Brin-L'ers who might find themselves in range of Johannesburg, SA, are cordially invited to attend! (directions etc available on request, email me [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Finally, kudos as usual are due for David B. Recently bought + started reading the 1980 book Sundiver :) ... loving it so far! David, you're my hero! Sigh, late for work again tomorrow. Sux. Bleh. Creative excuses seem to be mandatory in this case.. C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Life in 2008
Thought you chaps might be amused to see an article that appeared in November 1968 in Modern Mechanix. The predictions are partially right, but sadly we missed out on our 250 MPH cars and domed cities. http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/03/24/what-will-life-be-like-in-the-year -2008/ c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Apologies
Apple has no antitrust issues because unlike Microsoft Apple has not been convicted in a court of law for illegally abusing a monopoly position and therefore has had no legal sanctions placed on its corporate behaviour. Additionally Apple isn't a monopoly anyway so even accusing it of abusing its non-existent monopoly makes no sense. Absolutely. I should have been more explicitly tongue-in-cheek -- was just illustrating my own case of sour grapes. As a software developer for the windows platform, I don't have the freedom to choose operating systems! Regards, Curtis. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Diet (Was Re: Apologies)
Personally I don't like Apples, or fruit in general. I'm a meat and potatoes man. That sounds like a very unhealthy diet which will affect your mental and physical well-being in both the short and long term. That was just a figure of speech. I'm mostly vegetarian -- but I honestly don't like fruit, or anything sweet - chocolate, desserts, cakes, sugar in tea or coffee, or fruit. Regards Curtis ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Found: a Map of the Island in 'Lost'
... did I mention that as a result of the airwaves being filled with crap like 'Lost', I haven't owned a TV for about five years? Curtis. Garbage in garbage out Maru -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ronn! Blankenship Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 4:27 AM To: Killer Bs Discussion Subject: Found: a Map of the Island in 'Lost' http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/219-found-a-map-of-the-island-i n-lost/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Found: a Map of the Island in 'Lost'
On 20 Mar 2008, at 16:53, Curtis Burisch wrote: ... did I mention that as a result of the airwaves being filled with crap like 'Lost', I haven't owned a TV for about five years? You mean you've missed _Battlestar Galactica_, _Dexter_ and _Gossip Girl_? Nope. Well, I've never heard of Gossip Girl, but I loved BSG and Dexter -- that's what computers are for! C ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Apologies
For not posting about the monstrous evil of religion lately. I've been distracted by the new iPhone SDK (which is very nice) and thinking of what sort of software to create with it that lots of other people haven't also thought of :-) Hah! http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/11/1216211from=rss Apple's iPhone software development kit is already drawing complaints due to the strict terms of service. Voice over IP apps like Skype that attempt to use the cellular data connection will be blocked. Competing web browsers Firefox and Opera are forbidden. Even Sun is now backpedaling on its recent announcement of a java port, noting that there are some legal issues. Critics are already comparing Apple's methods to Comcast's anti-net neutrality filtering, and Microsoft's Netscape-killing antitrust tactics. Could Apple face government regulators? Time to get the big guns out and blast Apple for killing competition ... In other Apple news: http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/08/03/18/2117208.shtml Apparently, even subliminal exposure to the Apple logo can make you 'think different.' Researchers at Duke University subjected participants to subliminal images of the iconic Apple and IBM logos (during what subjects thought was a visual acuity test), and those who were shown the Apple logo generated more creative ideas after the test than did those who were shown the IBM logo. In a second test, subjects exposed to the Disney logo acted more honestly than those who saw an E! Channel logo. ... and ... http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/08/03/19/156256.shtml [A] look at how Steve Jobs' unusual and abrasive management style works. Included is also two cool added stories around this one.Management Techniques From the Dark Side; Wired.com compiles a list of counterintuitive, suspicious-seeming and downright evil management techniques that actually work. Personally I don't like Apples, or fruit in general. I'm a meat and potatoes man. Regards, Curtis. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Colonization of the Solar System Beyond
Wayne wrote: Has the list discussed what it will take to colonise the solar system in the past or is that too almost on topic? I'm pretty new here too ... I haven't seen anything of this kind of conversation. But maybe sci-fi has moved on a bit beyond merely banal spaceflight -- perhaps the topic had become a bit too commonplace, and the genre as a whole has moved onto other more sophisticated foci? It seems to me any colonisation of space will be doomed while it is dependent on any more than token amounts of equipment manufactured on earth, and that with current technology it would take hundreds or perhaps thousands of missions to Mars say, before there would be much chance of building the infrastructure to bootstrap an independent technological civilization. It's pretty well accepted that using resources found in-situ is the only far-sighted way to progress space travel. As you've pointed out, heaving everything with you from the bottom of this gravity well is a fairly tough prospect, so any bootstrap program would be far more likely to succeed if the location chosen is not a planet doesn't have the associated arduous gravity field. Therefore, it seems to me that the colonisation of space something that is going to have to wait until the singularity starts to kick in. Whether the singularity would want to have anything to do with colonizing space, as we see it today, is debatable. Transcendent technology would be capable of so much more, it's hard to see a reason for space colonization in a traditional 'sci-fi' sense. Thus, in my view, space colonization by Homo Sapiens Sapiens is only likely to happen before the singularity occurs. You hit the nail on the head in your posting, in that space exploration (on a human scale) is only feasible if we make the right choice on how to bootstrap. This is why we must make asteroids our first priority! They are the most accessible resource we have in near-earth space, and only by exploiting them can we have a sufficiently large space-borne economy to enable colonization of the solar system. ( beyond?) In order to achieve this dream, we need to develop technologies to allow us to make use of these resources. In the case of most metals, this is a process of crushing the ore rock, and smelting the ore. Starting with small quantities of material processed using earth-origin machinery (small factory / smelter ship), refine enough raw materials to manufacture more capable facilities, which in turn allows an increase in material output, which enables bigger smelters, and so on and so on. Smelters would be solar powered, using very large paraboloid mirrors of lightweight construction. It is likely that the operation would be crewed, with the heavy work done by tele-operated robots and machines. Most ore-processing and steel-working machinery is heavy and cumbersome, and currently works only under earth-gravity conditions. New techniques will have to be devised to deal with the challenge of microgravity materials processing. If a particular process cannot be adapted to micro-g conditions, we could always fall back on using centripetal force to simulate gravity, which would allow us to use the same old kinds of machines that work here on earth. I find it pretty sad that nobody is working toward this goal. The current US space program is doing some good work, but sadly the mission profiles target the moon and mars -- not asteroids. Many forward-thinking engineers in the space industry have noticed this, and are trying to do something about it. There is now a fairly strong movement to have the whole US space program repurposed toward asteroid habitation / exploitation. I wish them every success. C Rock 'n' Roll Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Brin: Life after People
It's tetrahydrocannabinol! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahydrocannabinol c History is dope Maru -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2008 6:35 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Brin: Life after People Life After People will air on 2008-03-10 21:00 on brazilian's tetrahydrocanabiol oops... The History Channel. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Huxley
I thought you might like to know of the full-text copy of Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception is online at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/doors.htm Hth, C One thing leads to another Maru. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Fwd: CNN Breaking News
Lance A. Brown said: The point of shooting the satellite was to disrupt the fuel storage. If the satellite came down in one piece, there is a chance the hydrazine fuel on board would survive to reach the surface. If it impacts on land, you get nasty poisonous gas cloud. If the missile did it's job, the fuel storage was destroyed. The satellite (or remaining parts) will still come down, but now the hydrazine will burn up during reentry. This is indeed what they said, but frankly that's just a ludicrous statement. Hydrazine isn't fun, but nobody has cared before in the slightest about spacecraft with much bigger loads of un-burnt hydrazine crashing to earth. Given the very remote possibility that this US spy-bird had crashed in a populated area, the negative effects of hydrazine landing on your head would be far less problematic than a piece of hurtling space junk tapping you on the head. The general consensus among many (e.g. www.theregister.co.uk) appears to be that the US wanted simply to test their sat-interceptor systems, and maybe make a bit of PR capital by flexing their muscles on the world stage. Curtis. Alpha-male syndrome Maru. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Wal-Mart and more L4
If you think black helicopters are a-comin-a-gitcha, you ain't seen nothin' yet: Think black flying saucers. Which make a lot more sense for alien invaders to use than ones which glow bright green . . . Black is way more cool. Ever seen a pink ufo?? Hah! Thought not! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Lead (was: Resending: Malaria in the world)
Even worse than the tobacco industry, no? Aye. (re: Ethyl) Hmm, no parallels to global warming and certain researchers either... The possible link between crime and lead levels is intriguing; articles on lead's harmful effects particularly WRT children have been posted previously, so I won't add any. O quit cheering! !! Clear correlation between lead and crime. A number of studies have demonstrated this unequivocally. c ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Resending: Malaria in the world
Deborah, it came through ok the first time :) Good research. But tonight I was reading a very interesting article on the use of lead additives to petrol in the USA, and I thought there were some very interesting parallels with the whole DDT issue. Damn interesting site, too, with great articles. http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=932 c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Deborah Harrell Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 12:51 AM To: brin-l@mccmedia.com Subject: Resending: Malaria in the world Hmm, I've waited 5 minutes and no post, so I'm trying again- schnipp ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Wal-Mart and more
Dan M: wrote: 3) Are you interested in discussing what I just quoted and will requote: The third is a discussion of the case at hand: if we (as I think we do) agree that improving the lives of the poorer among us at least _a_ worthwhile goal, has Wal-Mart done more to aid or more to harm those lives. Yes or no answers will suffice. Elaboration would be appreciated. This is a question that is enormously complex to answer. First, the trival bit: if we (as I think we do) agree that improving the lives of the poorer among us at least _a_ worthwhile goal I think there are very few who would admit to not thinking this an admirable goal. Second, the hard bit. ... done more to aid or more to harm ... . This is the tricky part. Without a complete assessment of Walmart's entire impact on poor people (and in fact the whole ecosystem of humanity), it's nearly impossible to answer accurately. I'm in no position to have much of an opinion on this one. But then again, nor is anyone else, much. Your response to the response to the response to this message confused me also. You were ranting on about the EU pandering to Green Party pressure, accusing them of sacrificing children to malaria for some political agenda. If you'd bothered to learn a little about DDT, you'd have seen that it is VERY nasty stuff. Most of the (extensive) Wikipedia article on DDT is about how nasty it is. Then I remembered Charlie's reference to the 'Gish Gallop' (to which you were responding), and this made me wonder if your abrupt change of topic might just be a hint suggesting that the whole Wal-mart argument was simply a cunning troll, rolled up in several layers of misdirection!? Regards Curtis The herring is not red Maru. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Wal-Mart and more
Dan, I live in Africa. I lived in Zimbabwe for more than half my life. There's no denying that Malaria is a big problem. But DDT is definitely NOT the answer. Other preventative measures are cheaper, and far less damaging. Wikipedia again: The relative effectiveness of IRS (with DDT or alternative insecticides) versus other malaria control techniques (e.g. bednets or prompt access to anti-malarial drugs) varies greatly and is highly dependent on local conditions.[15] A study by the World Health Organization released in January of 2008 found that mass distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and artemisinin based drugs cut malaria deaths in half in Rwanda and Ethiopia, countries with very high malaria burdens. IRS with DDT was determined to not have played an important role in the reduction of mortality.[105] Vietnam is an example of a country that has seen a continued decline in malaria cases after switching in 1991 from a poorly funded DDT-based campaign to a program based on prompt treatment, bednets, and the use of pyrethroid group insecticides. Deaths from malaria dropped by 97%.[106] In Mexico, the use of a range of effective and affordable chemical and non-chemical strategies against malaria has been so successful that the Mexican DDT manufacturing plant ceased production voluntarily, due to lack of demand.[107] Furthermore, while the increased numbers of malaria victims since DDT usage fell out of favor would, at first glance, suggest a 1:1 correlation, many other factors are known to have contributed to the rise in cases. A review of fourteen studies on the subject in sub-Saharan Africa, covering insecticide-treated nets, residual spraying, chemoprophylaxis for children, chemoprophylaxis or intermittent treatment for pregnant women, a hypothetical vaccine, and changing the first line drug for treatment, found decision making limited by the gross lack of information on the costs and effects of many interventions, the very small number of cost-effectiveness analyses available, the lack of evidence on the costs and effects of packages of measures, and the problems in generalizing or comparing studies that relate to specific settings and use different methodologies and outcome measures. The two cost-effectiveness estimates of DDT residual spraying examined were not found to provide an accurate estimate of the cost-effectiveness of DDT spraying; furthermore, the resulting estimates may not be good predictors of cost-effectiveness in current programmes.[108] However, a study in Thailand found the cost per malaria case prevented of DDT spraying ($1.87 US) to be 21% greater than the cost per case prevented of lambdacyhalothrin-treated nets ($1.54 US),[109] at very least casting some doubt on the unexamined assumption that DDT was the most cost-effective measure to use in all cases. The director of Mexico's malaria control program finds similar results, declaring that it is 25% cheaper for Mexico to spray a house with synthetic pyrethroids than with DDT.[107] However, another study in South Africa found generally lower costs for DDT spraying than for impregnated nets.[110] Right, so we've established that DDT is not always effective, that it's often more expensive than other methods of preventing malaria, but most importantly that alternative treatments exist that don't cause cancer or riverfuls of dead fish. Martin's quote sums up my position: Overselling a chemical's capacity to solve a problem can do irretrievable harm not only by raising false hopes but by delaying the use of more effective long-term methods. So let's drop the hyperbole and overblown rhetoric -- it's not what Africa needs. What's needed is a recognition of the problem's complexity and a willingness to use every available weapon to fight disease in an informed and rational way. Second, the hard bit. ... done more to aid or more to harm ... . This is the tricky part. Without a complete assessment of Walmart's entire impact on poor people (and in fact the whole ecosystem of humanity), it's nearly impossible to answer accurately. I'm in no position to have much of an opinion on this one. But then again, nor is anyone else, much. Actually, there are good data on thisI've read on this subject for years. One good source is Kerry's former economic advisor http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/walmart_progressive.pdf One can also do very straightforward mathematical modeling that indicates this general trend. Fair enough. I don't have the data. I've only been in a Walmart once. I have noticed that they're trying to go carbon-neutral, however. Actually, I read fairly extensively on the subject for years before making this post. I hadn't realized that it seems to have been an ongoing debate for some years. The answer seems painfully obvious to me, so why there should have been any debate on the subject at all, escapes me. you'd have seen that it is
RE: malaria in Africa
Charlie said: Oh look - change of topic: Muahahahahhahahaahaaa!!! Regards Curtis Can't pull the wool over this one's eyes Maru :P ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: expanded manned space program
IANAC, but I don't think that organic necessarily means from life, but means chemicals based on Carbon. Organic usually means related to life. The word Organic is also used to describe a branch of chemistry which deals with carbon-related compounds. (Coal is made of complex organics, Diamond is a crystal of a single element, and is not a compound at all.) Exploiting the hydrocarbons on Titan is about as economically feasible as walking to Nigeria every time you want a candy bar. It isn't. There is no oxygen about, so you you'd need to bring it with you -- or else haul these hydrocarbons all the way back to earth. Not to mention the environmental catastrophes that would be caused if we tried to burn this stuff in our atmosphere. Burning our own oil has been proven to be quite bad enough, without importing thousands of times more from distant planets. The origin of these organic compounds is not fully understood. There are some chemical reactions that occur naturally in the presence of ultraviolet radiation and/or other wavelengths, that turn simple organic molecules into more complex ones. It could be that something like this is happening. Or it could be that there is indeed some kind of life on the surface there. I don't know what IANAC means either, but I got a chuckle from I Am Not A Crook! Curtis. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: CoS in the news
Better idea - remove tax exemptions and other special benefits for religions and quasi-religious organistions, with the exception of charitable ventures (which must be purely charitable subsidiaries of or wholly separate ventures). And only those over twenty-one should be allowed access to churches/ temples/ashrams/mosques/synagogues and other places where the evil nonsense of religion is purveyed or to the vile corrupting texts of religion. Now there's a great idea! And, how about displaying a health warning outside churches/temples/etc., like the warnings on cigarette packets? Curtis Someone tell me what the story is with Maru? ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Young Earth Math?
Hmmm. This looks like a random post by an inspired but misguided soul, who will never actually bring his 'experimental course' to any real students... I quote, Please feel free to add other topics and suggestions, and add your name below as a teacher or student interested in this field. This suggests that it's just a pipedream with no basis in reality. The guy's got no idea -- ignore with impunity. c -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alberto Monteiro Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 10:43 PM To: brin-l@mccmedia.com Subject: Young Earth Math? I love the wikipedia - a source of information - and its parodies, the uncyclopedia and the conservapedia - sources of humor. But I didn't get this: http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservapedia:Critical_Thinking_in_Math What is it? Biblically correct math? Does the course prove that Pi = 3? Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
