[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Mike Dixon mdixon.6...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnPrxbYARJg

  
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Bernie Sanders destroys Hillary Clinton in primary debate on Vermont gun co...
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Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net [FairfieldLife]]

That was especially true in my hometown.  It was a rural farm town.  But 
my dad was a county employee so he wasn't unemployed during the Great 
Depression.  He did have to quit college though (ran out of money) and 
if he hadn't I might have grown up somewhere else in a different kind of 
environment.


On 01/24/2016 06:21 PM, awoelfleba...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife] wrote:

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[awoelfleba...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]]

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu...

[steve.sundur]

Smile #2 

---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com,  wrote :

 On 4/10/2014 1:35 PM, TurquoiseBee wrote:

 The French counterpart of Silicon Valley: >
 This might work for just about everyone but the network techs - if the server 
goes down and you don't fix it, you will be going down. I just pinged my remote 
server and it is online so I'm good to go.
 
 http://rwilliams.us/
 

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu...

[Richard J. Williams]

On 4/10/2014 1:35 PM, TurquoiseBee wrote:

The French counterpart of Silicon Valley:

>
This might work for just about everyone but the network techs - if the 
server goes down and you don't fix it, you will be going down. I just 
pinged my remote server and it is online so I'm good to go.


http://rwilliams.us/ 

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu...

[Bhairitu]

HP did a study back in the mid-1990s and determined that 50 hours a week 
was a maximum for their programmers.  Beyond that the work was 
counterproductive.  My boss often said that anyone who worked long hours 
was covering for their incompetence.


There is a problem with computer programming in that we often work like 
fine artists.  We like to tackle a chunk of work and not want to leave 
it until it is done.  The experience and skill is in determining how 
reasonably large that task might be.  I was told by a former Microsoft 
employee that this was recognized there. Therefore he would sometimes 
live at the office for two days, finish his task and then be able to 
take the rest of the week off except for being on call if there was a 
problem with his code.


On 04/10/2014 11:35 AM, TurquoiseBee wrote:

The French counterpart of Silicon Valley:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/shortcuts/2014/apr/09/french-6pm-labour-agreement-work-emails-out-of-office

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu...

[TurquoiseBee]

The French counterpart of Silicon Valley:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/shortcuts/2014/apr/09/french-6pm-labour-agreement-work-emails-out-of-office

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu -- It's hard being a Canadian zombie

[Bhairitu]

Hilarious. Apropos because George Romero lives in Toronto these days.

On 03/19/2014 12:40 AM, TurquoiseBee wrote:

Zombies shouldn't be nice.

http://digg.com/video/its-hard-being-a-canadian-zombie

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu -- It's hard being a Canadian zombie

[TurquoiseBee]

Zombies shouldn't be nice. 


http://digg.com/video/its-hard-being-a-canadian-zombie

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[authfriend]

Well, do go "review" (i.e., read) it and let me know what you think.
 

 I don't see anything in this post or your previous one that's relevant to the 
article I linked to, actually.
 

 << I would  have to review that.  But there's a problem with speculating what 
Netflix does.  As Barry would tell you, having worked for tech companies, it is 
often not what they are actually doing.  But any programming just glancing at 
the article would as expected it would speculate that is basically data mining 
or maybe more correctly "data scraping."  
 
 Netflix will post blog articles about their techniques.  And I get to argue 
with people who claim they are still using these techniques some 3 or 4 years 
after the blog article has been posted.  Worse yet I get to argue with geeks 
about Netflix encoding methods.  One ongoing argument is that my Sony BD is too 
old to use "adaptive streaming."  Mostly Netflix does not have one file for 
each stream.  Instead streams are broken up into each small files for MPEG-4 
and those may be for HD as small as 1.2 MB each.  They will have several of 
thees kinds of stream files at different resolution ranging from 240p to 1080p. 
 If they detect some congestion between you and their server they will drop 
down to a lower resolution stream just to catch up.  In fact if you watch a 
movie on Netflix they often will use a 240p stream just to start for about 30 
seconds. That's because at the start of most movies is a bunch of studio and 
distributor logos so it doesn't matter.  In the meantime they're able to buffer 
up to a minute of HD while your player shows those.
 
 And that's for ONE kind of steam.  Netflix admits they may have as many as 120 
different stream packages for each show.  That's to handle the wide range of 
devices that Netflix can be viewed on.  And it gets worse than that.  The 
MPEG-4 example just makes it a little easier to understand.  But the files 
don't have to be broken up into small files on the server.  Silverlight which 
Netflix uses doesn't necessarily do that as I've played with Microsoft 
Expression which can be downloaded for free and will do up to 10 minutes of 
Silverlight encoding at different resolutions.  Those are in VC-1 format though 
the paid pro version can do MPEG-4.  Each resolution has only one file and an 
index manifest for seeking.
 
 Favored probably by the industry is the emerging HTML5 codec that Google 
offers... for free. This is Webm which has the VP8 or VP9 codec from the 
company Google bought.  Those are like Silverlight singe files for each 
resolution, video only.  The audio file is separate.  All these have a meta 
data or manifest that allows them to quickly seek the segment to send out.  
Chromecast is most likely using these for newer films.
 
 Where I get into an argument with the techies is that I have always seen 
varying resolution on my supposedly non-adaptive (DASH) supported BD player.  I 
have even told them that the Netflix app got updated at least once.  I also 
have done projects using Sony's SDKs and know how they handle MPEG-4 files.  
The player is probably about  the same as on their devices I have programmed.  
BTW, none of the people I am arguing with have EVER done that nor even shot, 
edited video let alone created video players (I've had to create two of those).
 
 The reason Netflix won't tell you what they are actually doing is tech is VERY 
dynamic.  So what they did last year might be completely redone this year.  
They keep upgrading their technology.  They need to remain competitive.  And 
when you work for a tech company you are bound by NDAs which severely limit 
what you can say.  So we don't exactly have Netflix employees (who are probably 
lurking and laughing) drop in to post.
 
 So reverse engineering their suggestions technology might have led to gaffaws 
and grins down in Los Gatos. >>
 
 On 02/07/2014 10:05 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote:
 
   Ooh, sorry for the link-lack.
 
 
 So what did you think of the Perry Mason phenomenon?
 
 
 They've always been a bit laughable for me because they are recommending films 
I've already seen.  What Netflix can't do if know that you've seen via other 
sources.  I rent occasionally at Redbox.  These are often films that Netflix 
won't be getting for awhile if at all.  For instance, Netflix rarely gets any 
Universal movies (though that may change now that Comcast owns Universal and 
I'll explain later).  So Universal's big films if I am interested in one at all 
I'll just rent at Redbox on Bluray.  I also rent some indie films at Redbox 
again dependent on the distributor or if it is a title I want to see right away 
rather than wait maybe a month for it to arrive on Netflix.

 
 One movie Netflix keeps recommending is "Assault on Wall Street" by Uwe Boll.  
Thing is it was definitely a title I was interested in having seen the trailer 
posted on conspiracy sites.  So when it hit Redbox I immediately rented it on 
release da

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Bhairitu]

I would  have to review that.  But there's a problem with speculating 
what Netflix does.  As Barry would tell you, having worked for tech 
companies, it is often not *what* they are actually doing.  But any 
programming just glancing at the article would as expected it would 
speculate that is basically data mining or maybe more correctly "data 
scraping."


Netflix will post blog articles about their techniques.  And I get to 
argue with people who claim they are still using these techniques some 3 
or 4 years after the blog article has been posted.  Worse yet I get to 
argue with geeks about Netflix encoding methods.  One ongoing argument 
is that my Sony BD is too old to use "adaptive streaming."  Mostly 
Netflix does not have one file for each stream.  Instead streams are 
broken up into each small files for MPEG-4 and those may be for HD as 
small as 1.2 MB each.  They will have several of thees kinds of stream 
files at different resolution ranging from 240p to 1080p.  If they 
detect some congestion between you and their server they will drop down 
to a lower resolution stream just to catch up.  In fact if you watch a 
movie on Netflix they often will use a 240p stream just to start for 
about 30 seconds. That's because at the start of most movies is a bunch 
of studio and distributor logos so it doesn't matter.  In the meantime 
they're able to buffer up to a minute of HD while your player shows those.


And that's for ONE kind of steam.  Netflix admits they may have as many 
as 120 different stream packages for each show.  That's to handle the 
wide range of devices that Netflix can be viewed on. And it gets worse 
than that.  The MPEG-4 example just makes it a little easier to 
understand.  But the files don't have to be broken up into small files 
on the server.  Silverlight which Netflix uses doesn't necessarily do 
that as I've played with Microsoft Expression which can be downloaded 
for free and will do up to 10 minutes of Silverlight encoding at 
different resolutions.  Those are in VC-1 format though the paid pro 
version can do MPEG-4.  Each resolution has only one file and an index 
manifest for seeking.


Favored probably by the industry is the emerging HTML5 codec that Google 
offers... for free. This is Webm which has the VP8 or VP9 codec from the 
company Google bought.  Those are like Silverlight singe files for each 
resolution, video only.  The audio file is separate.  All these have a 
meta data or manifest that allows them to quickly seek the segment to 
send out.  Chromecast is most likely using these for newer films.


Where I get into an argument with the techies is that I have always seen 
varying resolution on my supposedly non-adaptive (DASH) supported BD 
player.  I have even told them that the Netflix app got updated at least 
once.  I also have done projects using Sony's SDKs and know how they 
handle MPEG-4 files.  The player is probably about  the same as on their 
devices I have programmed.  BTW, none of the people I am arguing with 
have EVER done that nor even shot, edited video let alone created video 
players (I've had to create two of those).


The reason Netflix won't tell you *what* they are actually doing is tech 
is VERY dynamic.  So what they did last year might be completely redone 
this year.  They keep upgrading their technology.  They need to remain 
competitive.  And when you work for a tech company you are bound by NDAs 
which severely limit what you can say.  So we don't exactly have Netflix 
employees (who are probably lurking and laughing) drop in to post.


So reverse engineering their suggestions technology might have led to 
gaffaws and grins down in Los Gatos.


On 02/07/2014 10:05 AM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote:


Ooh, sorry for the link-lack.


So what did you think of the Perry Mason phenomenon?


They've always been a bit laughable for me because they are 
recommending films I've already seen.  What Netflix can't do if know 
that you've seen via other sources.  I rent occasionally at Redbox.  
These are often films that Netflix won't be getting for awhile if at 
all.  For instance, Netflix rarely gets any Universal movies (though 
that may change now that Comcast owns Universal and I'll explain 
later).  So Universal's big films if I am interested in one at all 
I'll just rent at Redbox on Bluray.  I also rent some indie films at 
Redbox again dependent on the distributor or if it is a title I want 
to see right away rather than wait maybe a month for it to arrive on 
Netflix.



One movie Netflix keeps recommending is "Assault on Wall Street" by 
Uwe Boll.  Thing is it was definitely a title I was interested in 
having seen the trailer posted on conspiracy sites.  So when it hit 
Redbox I immediately rented it on release day.  I even recommended the 
film here.  About two weeks later it was available to watch on 
Netflix.  But what was additionally interesting was Boll's commentary 
which included why he made the film but also how little 

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[authfriend]

Ooh, sorry for the link-lack.
 

 So what did you think of the Perry Mason phenomenon?
 

 They've always been a bit laughable for me because they are recommending films 
I've already seen.  What Netflix can't do if know that you've seen via other 
sources.  I rent occasionally at Redbox.  These are often films that Netflix 
won't be getting for awhile if at all.  For instance, Netflix rarely gets any 
Universal movies (though that may change now that Comcast owns Universal and 
I'll explain later).  So Universal's big films if I am interested in one at all 
I'll just rent at Redbox on Bluray.  I also rent some indie films at Redbox 
again dependent on the distributor or if it is a title I want to see right away 
rather than wait maybe a month for it to arrive on Netflix.

 
 One movie Netflix keeps recommending is "Assault on Wall Street" by Uwe Boll.  
Thing is it was definitely a title I was interested in having seen the trailer 
posted on conspiracy sites.  So when it hit Redbox I immediately rented it on 
release day.  I even recommended the film here.  About two weeks later it was 
available to watch on Netflix.  But what was additionally interesting was 
Boll's commentary which included why he made the film but also how little money 
filmmakers get anymore for their films including how little companies like 
Showtime will pay for a film. BTW, I watched Boll's remake of the 1950s film 
(with Frank Sinatra) "Suddenly" last night on Netflix.  It's well worth a watch 
and Ray Liotta stars and Dominic Purcell who played the lead in "Assault on 
Wall Street" has a supporting role.
 
 BTW, I have 11 Redbox kiosks within 2 miles so I can usually find the film I 
want at one.  Because of streaming demand on Netflix I often leave those 
rentals for the weekend where it might be difficult to get a decent HD stream 
from Netflix.
 
 Another place if I am really impatient to see a film is to rent it on VUDU or 
Amazon.  Both will have films before they are available in theaters or while in 
theaters.  These aren't the Hollywood blockbusters but mostly indie films that 
some distributors like Mark Cuban's Magnolia Films have taken to releasing 
online due even prior to theatrical release due to the dwindling number of art 
houses.  You pay more for these, though often just the price of a nighttime 
theater ticket (no senior discount either).
 
 A bonus with most discs is that they have extras including commentaries.  That 
is except for the big studios like Universal who now put "rental" discs at 
Redbox which have the film only.  However even Universal, now owned by Comcast, 
might sell Redbox full featured discs if it is a indie film.  Same with Fox.  
Seldom if ever from Warner Brothers. Comcast may be adopting what I think is 
the smarter business model that Sony Pictures and Lionsgate uses and that is to 
get your content in as many channels as possible to maximize return.
 
 So thing is, being a film and TV buff, I am often ahead of the game as far as 
knowing what is coming and what I want to see.  Also Netflix supports third 
party sites.  Unlike some other companies they saw the value of third party fan 
and review sites as free advertising.  However they did pull the "coming soon" 
data as distributors started complaining.  Obviously if I knew that a film was 
going to be on Netflix two weeks after it arrived at Redbox I would wait the 
two weeks.
 
 As for the article you recommended I politely thanked you for thinking of me.  
But that article came out over a month ago.  Not only that you didn't provide a 
link.  I recall looking at it and the discussion on the Netflix discussion 
section of a forum I was on.  There we had long been discussing Netflix's 
"suggestions" algorithms.  And yeah, that article reveals just what I would 
have done if I worked at nearby Netflix (about 60 or 70 miles away as the crow 
flies) as that project lead.  It is just a form of data mining not that far 
removed from having a word processor catalog stuff for a document index.  
Here's the missing link:
 
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/how-netflix-reverse-engineered-hollywood/282679/
 
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/how-netflix-reverse-engineered-hollywood/282679/
 
 On 02/07/2014 04:29 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote:
 
   I never pay any attention to them. Why do you ask?
 

 << So what do you think about Netflix's recommendations of shows for you?
 
 
 Well, let's take a look at what you actually said:
 "I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends..."

 
 
 Which, you know, makes it appear that "this" refers to the relevance of 
Netflix's suggestions. And that (as I said) is not what the article I 
recommended is about. Nor is it about what you go on to talk about in your next 
paragraph:
 
 You seemed to have missed that I said this information is a couple weeks ol

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Bhairitu]

They've always been a bit laughable for me because they are recommending 
films I've already seen.  What Netflix can't do if know that you've seen 
via other sources.  I rent occasionally at Redbox.  These are often 
films that Netflix won't be getting for awhile if at all.  For instance, 
Netflix rarely gets any Universal movies (though that may change now 
that Comcast owns Universal and I'll explain later).  So Universal's big 
films if I am interested in one at all I'll just rent at Redbox on 
Bluray.  I also rent some indie films at Redbox again dependent on the 
distributor or if it is a title I want to see right away rather than 
wait maybe a month for it to arrive on Netflix.


One movie Netflix keeps recommending is "Assault on Wall Street" by Uwe 
Boll.  Thing is it was definitely a title I was interested in having 
seen the trailer posted on conspiracy sites.  So when it hit Redbox I 
immediately rented it on release day.  I even recommended the film 
here.  About two weeks later it was available to watch on Netflix.  But 
what was additionally interesting was Boll's commentary which included 
why he made the film but also how little money filmmakers get anymore 
for their films including how little companies like Showtime will pay 
for a film. BTW, I watched Boll's remake of the 1950s film (with Frank 
Sinatra) "Suddenly" last night on Netflix.  It's well worth a watch and 
Ray Liotta stars and Dominic Purcell who played the lead in "Assault on 
Wall Street" has a supporting role.


BTW, I have 11 Redbox kiosks within 2 miles so I can usually find the 
film I want at one.  Because of streaming demand on Netflix I often 
leave those rentals for the weekend where it might be difficult to get a 
decent HD stream from Netflix.


Another place if I am really impatient to see a film is to rent it on 
VUDU or Amazon.  Both will have films before they are available in 
theaters or while in theaters.  These aren't the Hollywood blockbusters 
but mostly indie films that some distributors like Mark Cuban's Magnolia 
Films have taken to releasing online due even prior to theatrical 
release due to the dwindling number of art houses.  You pay more for 
these, though often just the price of a nighttime theater ticket (no 
senior discount either).


A bonus with most discs is that they have extras including 
commentaries.  That is except for the big studios like Universal who now 
put "rental" discs at Redbox which have the film only. However even 
Universal, now owned by Comcast, might sell Redbox full featured discs 
if it is a indie film.  Same with Fox.  Seldom if ever from Warner 
Brothers. Comcast may be adopting what I think is the smarter business 
model that Sony Pictures and Lionsgate uses and that is to get your 
content in as many channels as possible to maximize return.


So thing is, being a film and TV buff, I am often ahead of the game as 
far as knowing what is coming and what I want to see. Also Netflix 
supports third party sites.  Unlike some other companies they saw the 
value of third party fan and review sites as free advertising.  However 
they did pull the "coming soon" data as distributors started 
complaining.  Obviously if I knew that a film was going to be on Netflix 
two weeks after it arrived at Redbox I would wait the two weeks.


As for the article you recommended I politely thanked you for thinking 
of me.  But that article came out over a month ago.  Not only that you 
didn't provide a link.  I recall looking at it and the discussion on the 
Netflix discussion section of a forum I was on.  There we had long been 
discussing Netflix's "suggestions" algorithms.  And yeah, that article 
reveals just what I would have done if I worked at nearby Netflix (about 
60 or 70 miles away as the crow flies) as that project lead.  It is just 
a form of data mining not that far removed from having a word processor 
catalog stuff for a document index.  Here's the missing link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/how-netflix-reverse-engineered-hollywood/282679/

On 02/07/2014 04:29 AM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote:


*I never pay any attention to them. Why do you ask?*


<< So what do you think about Netflix's recommendations of shows for you?

Well, let's take a look at what you /actually/ said:


"I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends..."



Which, you know, makes it appear that "this" refers to the relevance 
of Netflix's suggestions. And that (as I said) is not what the 
article I recommended is about. Nor is it about what you go on to 
talk about in your next paragraph:



You seemed to have missed that I said this information is a couple 
weeks old.  You are also forgetting that I'm a programmer and was 
well aware of heuristic procedures being used to determine tastes.  
In fact I am on home theater forums where this is discussed quite a 
bit including your aforementi

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[authfriend]

I never pay any attention to them. Why do you ask?
 

 << So what do you think about Netflix's recommendations of shows for you?
 

 Well, let's take a look at what you actually said:
 "I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends..."

 
 
 Which, you know, makes it appear that "this" refers to the relevance of 
Netflix's suggestions. And that (as I said) is not what the article I 
recommended is about. Nor is it about what you go on to talk about in your next 
paragraph:
 
 You seemed to have missed that I said this information is a couple weeks old.  
You are also forgetting that I'm a programmer and was well aware of heuristic 
procedures being used to determine tastes.  In fact I am on home theater forums 
where this is discussed quite a bit including your aforementioned article.  And 
being in the entertainment industry know how we "engineer" products to appeal 
to tastes.
 
 It seems that you do not, in fact, know what this particular article is about. 
Nothing to do with determining or appealing to tastes, you see.
 
 
 But heaven forbid you actually read the article and find out.
 
 
 Oh, and what did the folks on your home theater forums have to say about Perry 
Mason? >>
 On 02/06/2014 09:33 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote:
 
   The relevance of Netflix's suggestions is NOT NOT NOT what this article is 
about, Bhairitu. If you actually have a look at it, I'm pretty sure you'll be 
intrigued.
 
 
 Thanks.  I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends because 
of the way I use Netflix.  For instance I only watched "Atlas Shrugged II" for 
reference and gave it only 1 star (you can't give no stars) so they post a 
message after such a rating that they have no recommendations based on that 
rating.  The movie itself is quite laughable.
 
 On 02/05/2014 09:37 PM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote:
 
   How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood To understand how people look for 
movies, the video service created 76,897 micro-genres. We took the genre 
descriptions, broke them down to their key words, … and built our own new-genre 
generator.
 

 This article from The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal is a  whole lot more 
fascinating than it sounds. Especially the Perry Mason Ghost in the Machine, 
which emerges toward the end. The "new-genre generator" is the least of it.

 



 



 

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Bhairitu]

So what do you think about Netflix's recommendations of shows for you?

On 02/06/2014 11:42 AM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote:


Well, let's take a look at what you /actually/ said:


"I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends..."



Which, you know, makes it appear that "this" refers to the relevance 
of Netflix's suggestions. And that (as I said) is not what the article 
I recommended is about. Nor is it about what you go on to talk about 
in your next paragraph:



You seemed to have missed that I said this information is a couple 
weeks old.  You are also forgetting that I'm a programmer and was well 
aware of heuristic procedures being used to determine tastes.  In fact 
I am on home theater forums where this is discussed quite a bit 
including your aforementioned article.  And being in the entertainment 
industry know how we "engineer" products to appeal to tastes.


It seems that you do not, in fact, know what this particular article 
is about. Nothing to do with determining or appealing to tastes, you see.


But heaven forbid you actually read the article and find out.

Oh, and what did the folks on your home theater forums have to say 
about Perry Mason?


On 02/06/2014 09:33 AM, authfriend@...  wrote:

*The relevance of Netflix's suggestions is NOT NOT NOT what this 
article is about, Bhairitu. If you actually have a look at it, I'm 
pretty sure you'll be intrigued.*




Thanks. I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  
However their suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or 
Amazon recommends because of the way I use Netflix.  For instance I 
only watched "Atlas Shrugged II" for reference and gave it only 1 
star (you can't give no stars) so they post a message after such a 
rating that they have no recommendations based on that rating.  The 
movie itself is quite laughable.


On 02/05/2014 09:37 PM, authfriend@...  wrote:



  How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood

To understand how people look for movies, the video service created 
76,897 micro-genres. We took the genre descriptions, broke them down 
to their key words, … and built our own new-genre generator.


This article from The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal is a  whole lot 
more fascinating than it sounds. Especially the Perry Mason Ghost in 
the Machine, which emerges toward the end. The "new-genre generator" 
is the least of it.

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[authfriend]

Well, let's take a look at what you actually said:
 

 "I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends..."
 

 Which, you know, makes it appear that "this" refers to the relevance of 
Netflix's suggestions. And that (as I said) is not what the article I 
recommended is about. Nor is it about what you go on to talk about in your next 
paragraph:
 
 You seemed to have missed that I said this information is a couple weeks old.  
You are also forgetting that I'm a programmer and was well aware of heuristic 
procedures being used to determine tastes.  In fact I am on home theater forums 
where this is discussed quite a bit including your aforementioned article.  And 
being in the entertainment industry know how we "engineer" products to appeal 
to tastes.
 
It seems that you do not, in fact, know what this particular article is about. 
Nothing to do with determining or appealing to tastes, you see.
 

 But heaven forbid you actually read the article and find out.
 

 Oh, and what did the folks on your home theater forums have to say about Perry 
Mason?
 On 02/06/2014 09:33 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote:
 
   The relevance of Netflix's suggestions is NOT NOT NOT what this article is 
about, Bhairitu. If you actually have a look at it, I'm pretty sure you'll be 
intrigued.
 
 
 Thanks.  I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends because 
of the way I use Netflix.  For instance I only watched "Atlas Shrugged II" for 
reference and gave it only 1 star (you can't give no stars) so they post a 
message after such a rating that they have no recommendations based on that 
rating.  The movie itself is quite laughable.
 
 On 02/05/2014 09:37 PM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote:
 
   How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood To understand how people look for 
movies, the video service created 76,897 micro-genres. We took the genre 
descriptions, broke them down to their key words, … and built our own new-genre 
generator.
 

 This article from The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal is a  whole lot more 
fascinating than it sounds. Especially the Perry Mason Ghost in the Machine, 
which emerges toward the end. The "new-genre generator" is the least of it.

 



 

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Bhairitu]

You seemed to have missed that I said this information is a couple weeks 
old.  You are also forgetting that I'm a programmer and was well aware 
of heuristic procedures being used to determine tastes.  In fact I am on 
home theater forums where this is discussed quite a bit including your 
aforementioned article.  And being in the entertainment industry know 
how we "engineer" products to appeal to tastes.


On 02/06/2014 09:33 AM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote:


*The relevance of Netflix's suggestions is NOT NOT NOT what this 
article is about, Bhairitu. If you actually have a look at it, I'm 
pretty sure you'll be intrigued.*




Thanks. I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However 
their suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon 
recommends because of the way I use Netflix.  For instance I only 
watched "Atlas Shrugged II" for reference and gave it only 1 star (you 
can't give no stars) so they post a message after such a rating that 
they have no recommendations based on that rating.  The movie itself 
is quite laughable.


On 02/05/2014 09:37 PM, authfriend@...  wrote:



  How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood

To understand how people look for movies, the video service created 
76,897 micro-genres. We took the genre descriptions, broke them down 
to their key words, … and built our own new-genre generator.


This article from The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal is a  whole lot 
more fascinating than it sounds. Especially the Perry Mason Ghost in 
the Machine, which emerges toward the end. The "new-genre generator" 
is the least of it.

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[authfriend]

The relevance of Netflix's suggestions is NOT NOT NOT what this article is 
about, Bhairitu. If you actually have a look at it, I'm pretty sure you'll be 
intrigued.
 

 Thanks.  I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However their 
suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon recommends because 
of the way I use Netflix.  For instance I only watched "Atlas Shrugged II" for 
reference and gave it only 1 star (you can't give no stars) so they post a 
message after such a rating that they have no recommendations based on that 
rating.  The movie itself is quite laughable.
 
 On 02/05/2014 09:37 PM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote:
 
   How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood To understand how people look for 
movies, the video service created 76,897 micro-genres. We took the genre 
descriptions, broke them down to their key words, … and built our own new-genre 
generator.
 

 This article from The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal is a  whole lot more 
fascinating than it sounds. Especially the Perry Mason Ghost in the Machine, 
which emerges toward the end. The "new-genre generator" is the least of it.

 

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Bhairitu]

Thanks.  I looked at some articles on this a couple weeks ago.  However 
their suggestions are about as relevant as what Google or Amazon 
recommends because of the way I use Netflix.  For instance I only 
watched "Atlas Shrugged II" for reference and gave it only 1 star (you 
can't give no stars) so they post a message after such a rating that 
they have no recommendations based on that rating.  The movie itself is 
quite laughable.


On 02/05/2014 09:37 PM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote:



  How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood

To understand how people look for movies, the video service created 
76,897 micro-genres. We took the genre descriptions, broke them down 
to their key words, … and built our own new-genre generator.


This article from The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal is a  whole lot more 
fascinating than it sounds. Especially the Perry Mason Ghost in the 
Machine, which emerges toward the end. The "new-genre generator" is 
the least of it.

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[authfriend]

How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood To understand how people look for 
movies, the video service created 76,897 micro-genres. We took the genre 
descriptions, broke them down to their key words, … and built our own new-genre 
generator.
 

 This article from The Atlantic by Alexis Madrigal is a  whole lot more 
fascinating than it sounds. Especially the Perry Mason Ghost in the Machine, 
which emerges toward the end. The "new-genre generator" is the least of it.

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu, the trailer for "Hell, No"

[TurquoiseB]

http://laughingsquid.com/hell-no-a-horror-movie-starring-characters-that\
-make-good-decisions/
 

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu :-)

[Bhairitu]

On 08/16/2013 11:53 PM, turquoiseb wrote:
> [https://sphotos-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/q71/1184853_72142483120\
> 7174_940982318_n.jpg]

Thanks. There was a time it was called "investigative reporting". Just 
ask Michael Hastings. ;-)

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu :-)

[turquoiseb]

[https://sphotos-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/q71/1184853_72142483120\
7174_940982318_n.jpg]

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu: the repercussions of Greece for the U.S.

[Bhairitu]

Greece is around number 62-70 in the ranking of economies whereas 
California is 7th or 8th. Yes, there is a big problem with pensions. 
Idiots wrote those up as if the cost of living would always increase. 
Cities can't afford to pay those because of reduced revenues. Of course 
like the article says there are a lot of retired shits who feel they've 
won the lottery and could give a damn. But there are others would 
wouldn't mind if their payments were more linked to the economy. This 
belief that what goes up never comes down was a major problem in 
California. I bet if government employees about retire were told their 
payments were tied to the economy they wouldn't have bought those 
monster homes they really didn't need.

Which reminds me of a line in the movie "Book of Eli" where Denzel tells 
this girl asking what life was like before the apocalypse says "people 
had more than they really needed." You can find that line (I may have 
paraphrased it) in some of the trailers for that movie. Such is the 
problem with the US. People lived high on the hog using credit. Sort of 
like the US government when it has wars but the MIC would hate me saying 
that. After all the MIC is the biggest welfare payout the US government has.

The solution: since there are more people than jobs stipends for 
everyone not just the retired. Then it will shake out. My bet is most 
will just sit around with neighbors and enjoy the day. After all, why be 
on a race to nowhere?


ShempMcGurk wrote:
> Mark Steyn: America's future could be all Greek to us   [By MARK  STEYN]
> By MARK STEYN Syndicated columnist lett...@ocregister.com
> Story Highlights
> Greece has an even more unsustainable welfare state and too few kids and
> grandkids to stick with the bill.
>
>
> While Barack Obama  
> was making his latest pitch for a brand new, even more unsustainable
> entitlement at the health care "summit," thousands of Greeks took to the
> streets to riot. An enterprising cable network might have shown the two
> scenes on a continuous split-screen - because they're part of the same
> story. It's just that Greece is a little further along in the plot:
> They're at the point where the canoe is about to plunge over the falls.
> America is further upstream and can still pull for shore, but has
> decided, instead, that what it needs to do is catch up with the Greek
> canoe. Chapter One (the introduction of unsustainable entitlements)
> leads eventually to Chapter 20 (total societal collapse): The Greeks are
> at Chapter 17 or 18.
> What's happening in the developed world today isn't so very hard to
> understand: The 20th century Bismarckian welfare state has run out of
> people to stick it to. In America, the feckless insatiable boobs in
> Washington, Sacramento, Albany and elsewhere are screwing over our kids
> and grandkids. In Europe, they've reached the next stage in social
> democratic evolution: There are no kids or grandkids to screw over. The
> United States has a fertility rate of around 2.1 – or just over two
> kids per couple. Greece has a fertility rate of about 1.3: 10
> grandparents have six kids have four grandkids – i.e., the family
> tree is upside down. Demographers call 1.3 "lowest-low" fertility –
> the point from which no society has ever recovered. And, compared with
> Spain and Italy, Greece has the least-worst fertility rate in
> Mediterranean Europe.
>   [Article Tab : athens-wednesday-police-d]  Police clashes with
> protesters in Athens on Wednesday Feb. 24, 2010. Police fired tear gas
> and clashed with demonstrators in central Athens on Wednesday as
> violence broke out after a large protest march against government
> austerity measures intended to fix the country's debt crisis. 
> Associated Press photo   So you can't borrow against the future because,
> in the most basic sense, you don't have one. Greeks in the public sector
> retire at 58, which sounds great. But, when 10 grandparents have four
> grandchildren, who pays for you to spend the last third of your adult
> life loafing around?
> By the way, you don't have to go to Greece to experience Greek-style
> retirement: The Athenian "public service" of California has been
> metaphorically face down in the ouzo for a generation. Still, America as
> a whole is not yet Greece. A couple of years ago, when I wrote my book
> "America Alone," I put the Social Security debate at that time in a bit
> of perspective: On 2005 figures, projected public pensions liabilities
> were expected to rise by 2040 to about 6.8 percent of GDP. In Greece,
> the figure was 25 percent: in other words, head for the hills,
> Armageddon outta here, The End. Since then, the situation has worsened
> in both countries. And, really, the comparison is academic: Whereas
> America still has a choice, Greece isn't going to have a 2040 – not
> without a massive shot of Reality Juice.
>
> Is that likely to happen? A

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu: the repercussions of Greece for the U.S.

[ShempMcGurk]

Mark Steyn: America's future could be all Greek to us   [By MARK  STEYN]
By MARK STEYN Syndicated columnist lett...@ocregister.com
Story Highlights
Greece has an even more unsustainable welfare state and too few kids and
grandkids to stick with the bill.


While Barack Obama  
was making his latest pitch for a brand new, even more unsustainable
entitlement at the health care "summit," thousands of Greeks took to the
streets to riot. An enterprising cable network might have shown the two
scenes on a continuous split-screen - because they're part of the same
story. It's just that Greece is a little further along in the plot:
They're at the point where the canoe is about to plunge over the falls.
America is further upstream and can still pull for shore, but has
decided, instead, that what it needs to do is catch up with the Greek
canoe. Chapter One (the introduction of unsustainable entitlements)
leads eventually to Chapter 20 (total societal collapse): The Greeks are
at Chapter 17 or 18.
What's happening in the developed world today isn't so very hard to
understand: The 20th century Bismarckian welfare state has run out of
people to stick it to. In America, the feckless insatiable boobs in
Washington, Sacramento, Albany and elsewhere are screwing over our kids
and grandkids. In Europe, they've reached the next stage in social
democratic evolution: There are no kids or grandkids to screw over. The
United States has a fertility rate of around 2.1 – or just over two
kids per couple. Greece has a fertility rate of about 1.3: 10
grandparents have six kids have four grandkids – i.e., the family
tree is upside down. Demographers call 1.3 "lowest-low" fertility –
the point from which no society has ever recovered. And, compared with
Spain and Italy, Greece has the least-worst fertility rate in
Mediterranean Europe.
  [Article Tab : athens-wednesday-police-d]  Police clashes with
protesters in Athens on Wednesday Feb. 24, 2010. Police fired tear gas
and clashed with demonstrators in central Athens on Wednesday as
violence broke out after a large protest march against government
austerity measures intended to fix the country's debt crisis. 
Associated Press photo   So you can't borrow against the future because,
in the most basic sense, you don't have one. Greeks in the public sector
retire at 58, which sounds great. But, when 10 grandparents have four
grandchildren, who pays for you to spend the last third of your adult
life loafing around?
By the way, you don't have to go to Greece to experience Greek-style
retirement: The Athenian "public service" of California has been
metaphorically face down in the ouzo for a generation. Still, America as
a whole is not yet Greece. A couple of years ago, when I wrote my book
"America Alone," I put the Social Security debate at that time in a bit
of perspective: On 2005 figures, projected public pensions liabilities
were expected to rise by 2040 to about 6.8 percent of GDP. In Greece,
the figure was 25 percent: in other words, head for the hills,
Armageddon outta here, The End. Since then, the situation has worsened
in both countries. And, really, the comparison is academic: Whereas
America still has a choice, Greece isn't going to have a 2040 – not
without a massive shot of Reality Juice.

Is that likely to happen? At such moments, I like to modify Gerald Ford
 . When seeking to
ingratiate himself with conservative audiences, President Ford liked to
say: "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big
enough to take away everything you have." Which is true enough. But
there's an intermediate stage: A government big enough to give you
everything you want isn't big enough to get you to give any of it back.
That's the point Greece is at. Its socialist government has been forced
into supporting a package of austerity measures. The Greek people's
response is: Nuts to that. Public sector workers have succeeded in
redefining time itself: Every year, they receive 14 monthly payments.
You do the math. And for about seven months' work: for many of them the
work day ends at 2:30 p.m. And, when they retire, they get 14 monthly
pension payments. In other words: Economic reality is not my problem. I
want my benefits. And, if it bankrupts the entire state a generation
from now, who cares as long as they keep the checks coming until I
croak?

We hard-hearted small-government guys are often damned as selfish types
who care nothing for the general welfare. But, as the Greek protests
make plain, nothing makes an individual more selfish than the socially
equitable communitarianism of big government: Once a chap's enjoying the
fruits of government health care, government-paid vacation,
government-funded early retirement, and all the rest, he couldn't give a
hoot about the general societal interest; he's got his, and to hell with
everyone else. People's s

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu -- my "Polanski conspiracy theory" :-)

[Bhairitu]

I don't have time to read through the links you've provided.  I would 
hope some of them would point out that people put money in Swiss banks 
that taxes have already been paid on.  The US government has no need to 
know about those.  But I agree they may try to impound any money people 
have not only abroad but in the US.  I've been saying ever since I saw 
the documentary on Argentina back in 2002 that what happened there is 
likely to happen in the US.  In Argentina they stole people's retirement 
funds.  Suddenly even professional people were broke.  And I believe in 
2005 the IMF who did the raiding in Argentina warned the US that it was 
in for the same thing.   But people here are too busy watching American 
Idol and football to care.

We need to all become Robin Hoods.

TurquoiseB wrote:
> Just for fun, and to piss off the emotionally-
> out-of-control here.  :-)
>
> My theory -- which is not just mine, BTW, and
> has been voiced in the European press -- is
> that the Polanski case is All About Extradition.
>
> That is, it's an attempt by the US to "beef up"
> extradition as a "preventive measure" to keep
> rich Americans from taking their money to off-
> shore tax havens and then moving there them-
> selves when the economy finally tanks. The real
> goal of this effort is to ensure that when this
> happens the US can extradite and "bring back"
> rich people who move to tax haven countries and,
> more important, "bring back" their money.
>
> Andorran sources have said that pressures similar
> to what the US is trying to impose on Switzerland
> have been tried on them. So have sources in the
> Channel Islands, the Cayman Islands, and other
> nations known as tax havens. 
>
> I'll just throw this out and allow the ranters
> to rant about it. It's just a theory, and a con-
> spiracy theory at that :-), but my rule of thumb 
> when some guvmint dredges up a 32-year-old case
> at the same time its economy is in a meltdown is 
> that it's not a bad idea to "follow the money" 
> and see whether there might just be a financial
> reason for it. And there is.
>
> http://www.billshrink.com/blog/15-of-the-worlds-most-significant-tax-havens/
>
> http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/tax-havens-under-attack/
>
> http://www.azbiz.com/articles/2009/08/21/finance/your_money/doc4a8ee0dc0e47f892500676.txt
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/15/rich-americans-scrambling_n_260325.html
>
> http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/08/19/economic-scene-a-tougher-stance-on-tax-havens/
>
>
>
>
>   

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu -- my "Polanski conspiracy theory" :-)

[TurquoiseB]

Just for fun, and to piss off the emotionally-
out-of-control here.  :-)

My theory -- which is not just mine, BTW, and
has been voiced in the European press -- is
that the Polanski case is All About Extradition.

That is, it's an attempt by the US to "beef up"
extradition as a "preventive measure" to keep
rich Americans from taking their money to off-
shore tax havens and then moving there them-
selves when the economy finally tanks. The real
goal of this effort is to ensure that when this
happens the US can extradite and "bring back"
rich people who move to tax haven countries and,
more important, "bring back" their money.

Andorran sources have said that pressures similar
to what the US is trying to impose on Switzerland
have been tried on them. So have sources in the
Channel Islands, the Cayman Islands, and other
nations known as tax havens. 

I'll just throw this out and allow the ranters
to rant about it. It's just a theory, and a con-
spiracy theory at that :-), but my rule of thumb 
when some guvmint dredges up a 32-year-old case
at the same time its economy is in a meltdown is 
that it's not a bad idea to "follow the money" 
and see whether there might just be a financial
reason for it. And there is.

http://www.billshrink.com/blog/15-of-the-worlds-most-significant-tax-havens/

http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/tax-havens-under-attack/

http://www.azbiz.com/articles/2009/08/21/finance/your_money/doc4a8ee0dc0e47f892500676.txt

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/15/rich-americans-scrambling_n_260325.html

http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/08/19/economic-scene-a-tougher-stance-on-tax-havens/

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[shempmcgurk]

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu: Lucky Number Slevin

[Bhairitu]

TurquoiseB wrote:
> Great flick. Came and went far too fast, but 
> definitely worth a rental. Josh Hartnett, Bruce
> Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley,
> Stanely Tucci. It'll keep you guessin'...
Seen it and it was good.  I watched "Tideland" (Terry Gilliam) last 
night.  Quite a trippy film and well worth a watch!

[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu: Lucky Number Slevin

[TurquoiseB]

Great flick. Came and went far too fast, but 
definitely worth a rental. Josh Hartnett, Bruce
Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley,
Stanely Tucci. It'll keep you guessin'...

Re: [FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[Bhairitu]

shempmcgurk wrote:
>   
Thanks.  And for you:
http://www.benjerry.com/americanpie/



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[FairfieldLife] For Bhairitu

[shempmcgurk]

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