t3knomanser

t3knomanser

  • Commented on Generation Z
    It's a bit of a catch-22. The reason we're in this fix is that the oligarchs took the reins of power to improve their own lot. The way out of this fix is to break their grasp- which requires the...
  • Commented on A nation of slaves
    In addition to population growth, we generally want more than just the bare minimum. If I didn't need to work for a living, I would likely engage in more artistic pursuits. These luxury items would, hopefully, be desired by others-...
  • Commented on A nation of slaves
    Regarding deficits: this is more an artifact of accounting than a true statement of costs. Further, if you believe that your nation is going to continue into the future, and that your economy is going to grow over time, then...
  • Commented on April Fools Day is Cancelled this Year.
    It's not cancelled- we're just celebrating April Fool's Day (observed) on 4/6....
  • Commented on Sitrep
    "No, I'm not neutered. That reminds me, my last vet died in a tragic and bloody accident…"...
  • Commented on Why I want Bitcoin to die in a fire
    On the down side, due to its deflationary nature, it's hard to think that Bitcoins will ever fully die off, at this point. I think it crossed the threshold of stability, and since BtC will always get slightly more valuable...
  • Commented on Trust Me (I'm a kettle)
    It still gives up a lot of valuable location data, anyway....
  • Commented on Trust Me (I'm a kettle)
    Malware is one obvious application, but there are shady-but-not-overtly-bad applications. Not that I expect bitcoins to truly stick around, think about consumer product manufacturers jamming bitcoin miners in every toaster sold, and collecting the profits when those miners hit a...
  • Commented on PSA: Why there won't be a third book in the Halting State trilogy
    Oh, there's a premise for you- a lost treasure pulp with the twist that there isn't a secret treasure map; the details are gleaned from plowing through 100 years of social network activity....
  • Commented on PSA: Why there won't be a third book in the Halting State trilogy
    I predict this future: Facebook will open a "corporate services" business, which provides data with employers- for a small fee. It will, of course, be mismanaged and built around revenue generation and not privacy, so it will be abused pretty...
  • Commented on PSA: Why there won't be a third book in the Halting State trilogy
    "Merchant Princes: The Next Generation" Ah, I'm just in the process of re-reading that. I do look forward to follow-ons. And the inevitable TV series- seriously, it's "Game of Thrones" plus "Homeland" with hints of "The Wire". Just piling those...
  • Commented on What scared H. P. Lovecraft
    I'd read it....
  • Commented on What scared H. P. Lovecraft
    That's far more complete than my idea of what truly terrified Lovecraft: non-white people. Your assessment isn't wrong, but I think that's another important part of what drove Lovecraft- he was terrified by the "other", and simple xenophobia is a...
  • Commented on On Syria
    In the case of the US, it comes down to Israel. A lack of stability in Syria is dangerous for Israel. The thinking appears to be along the lines of: "If we get involved in Syria now, we can control...
  • Commented on Snowden leaks: the real take-home
    I'm ripening on the vine at the venerable age of 33. I work for a company that was a little late to the party on the "flexible" workforce, and many of my co-workers have worked here for 40+ years. Here,...
  • Commented on Crib Sheet: Saturn's Children
    Or, they did perfect life extension. Life extension wouldn't prevent human extinction. It doesn't matter how extended your life is- statistics say you're gonna die, eventually. Even if you grant magical brain-backups, backups get corrupted and lost and maliciously destroyed....
  • Commented on A Bad Dream
    I think the main reason Americans feel like we have a single ruling party is that we have a far right party and a center-right party, but no serious liberal or progressive party in national politics....
  • Commented on A Bad Dream
    This is another iteration of the principal/agent problem. "We the people" (in the American parlance) are the principal; we select agents to execute the business of government, mostly via election. In an ideal world, the interests of the principals and...
  • Commented on Customer Satisfaction Survey
    I'm glad for this opportunity to provide some feedback. My experience with 2012 has been fairly mixed, and I look forward to improvements in the future: First, the fit was surprisingly good, considering I purchased it off the rack. It...
  • Commented on Understanding Reader Reviews
    Oh, I adore Hannu Rajaniemi, but that's because we both share very similar visions of what we expect the far future to look like. While the language gets a little flowery, the story is generally pretty simple until you find...
  • Commented on Understanding Reader Reviews
    As a slight digression, I was almost quite put out because I picked up The Merchant Princes expecting some sort of gritty parallel universe adventuring and found myself staring at a portal yarn. Were I not already familiar with your...
  • Commented on The ticking clock, stopped
    I should add, once I hit that "fuck-you money" level, well- I don't have any plans. That's the whole point of having "fuck-you money". You don't need to have plans anymore, because fuck you, I do what I want....
  • Commented on The ticking clock, stopped
    I'd take it, but it wouldn't really have a huge impact my life plans. My life plans involve having enough equity banked that I can live off the investment returns starting sometime in my mid-40s. A thousand dollar per year...
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