tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post6657640036300689528..comments2024-03-18T21:52:45.757-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: And now... loons of the left prove that it isn't a monopolyDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28162144753435578012009-09-27T04:23:56.162-07:002009-09-27T04:23:56.162-07:00Jumper: the molten steel was definitely steel, not...<b>Jumper</b>: the molten steel was definitely <i>steel</i>, not lead -- or aluminum, as some have suggested. There are photos of steel girders being pulled out of the wreckage with one end still glowing orange-hot. I don't think there's any dispute, even in the official story, about what metal it was.Woozlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17948248776908775080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58893735996158694322009-09-26T13:08:43.435-07:002009-09-26T13:08:43.435-07:00I have long felt that most conspiracy theories ten...I have long felt that most conspiracy theories tend to let people feel better about feeling powerless. They can't (or don't want to) believe that great changes can be effected by one or a few people.<br /><br />For instance, I think that much of the hoopla surrounding the Kennedy assassination came from the gut feeling that something as "great" (read: emotionally resonant) as JFK couldn't possibly be brought low by one random nutjob who wanted to use his Marine Corps skills to impress the KGB (to whom he had applied to be a double agent; they had rejected him as too unstable). Instead, they'd <i>rather</i> believe that the President was killed by a large conspiracy involving (depending on who you talk to) the CIA, labor unions, the Mafia, and the people trying to keep UFOs under cover.<br /><br />Similarly, people don't <i>want</i> to believe that such a devastating strike against American home soil as 9/11 could possibly have been committed by a small group of fanatics backed by an only slightly larger group of fanatics; they'd prefer to believe that it would require a large conspiracy actually residing in the US.<br /><br />After all, if the world can be changed by the actions of a few, that kind of takes away their excuses for feeling powerless, doesn't it? :-)Jon S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-59799775913001184802009-09-26T00:00:07.560-07:002009-09-26T00:00:07.560-07:00My own thoughts on both lunar and Martian water is...My own thoughts on both lunar and Martian water is that at certain depths - apparently not so deep - groundwater is groundwater and permafrost is permafrost. A water well may not even have to be very deep. Ore processing activities might be a bit more brute force than needed. I bet a 200 foot well on the right spot on the moon could vacuum a lot of water vapor per day if it comes to that. If you are willing to drill deeper, even on the moon permafrost should segue to liquid at a mile in depth (roughly! the temperature gradient is not well-researched!) Porosity of the rock is not high. But there is a lot of rock. And I haven't even mentioned fracturing the formations like we do with recalcitrant oil and gas wells on Earth.Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29281941490042640002009-09-25T23:51:37.819-07:002009-09-25T23:51:37.819-07:00When I heard about reports of the "molten ste...When I heard about reports of the "molten steel" at WTC 1 & 2 I thought of uninterruptible power supplies (lead batteries). Pools of lead from UPSs for offices. When I heard about sulfur I simply figured the Port Authority contractors used some crappy sulfur-tainted steel back in the '60s. A little excess sulfur won't weaken steel unless it's in a fire...<br /><br />Too many people have weighed in on this subject who have no idea of engineering or reality whatever. More responsible sorts merely ask questions and don't presume to answer their own questions.Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-64128157379726484672009-09-25T10:43:22.354-07:002009-09-25T10:43:22.354-07:00The sheeple people (ugh, I can't believe I typ...The sheeple people (ugh, I can't believe I typed that) aren't liberals, at least not by my definition, nor do I believe by the dictionary definition. Maybe in one political definition they are. Then, I guess, I'm not a "liberal" even though I'd say I am (much to Dr. Brin's chagrin).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-2464958233006268772009-09-25T10:12:34.012-07:002009-09-25T10:12:34.012-07:00@ Twinbeam re: hung census worker
Yeah, that was ...@ Twinbeam re: hung census worker<br /><br />Yeah, that was my thought; meth lab or pot field.JuhnDonnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06795417373366495092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13168982633654980612009-09-25T01:21:19.907-07:002009-09-25T01:21:19.907-07:00A bet on that hung census worker - if/when they so...A bet on that hung census worker - if/when they solve the case, it'll turn out to be a drug farmer who thought the guy was a little too nosy to be allowed to live.Twinbeamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75987095719491732672009-09-25T01:16:54.742-07:002009-09-25T01:16:54.742-07:00The problem with hypothesizing life or life's ...The problem with hypothesizing life or life's basis originated in the comets is that - if we assume generating that basis is so exceedingly difficult that is requires astronomical numbers of comets to overcome that difficulty - then it also follows that the basis for life would have arisen in only an infinitesimally small fraction of those comets. How then, were we so lucky as to have it somehow escape and survive to seed the Earth? <br /><br />Unless there's a mechanism to communicate that basis of life - whatever it is supposed to be - to other comets (thereby somehow proliferating) and then eventually becoming common enough that it happened to be communicated to Earth - then really adding comets doesn't make the arrival of life on Earth any more probable.TwinBeamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-60792384051895167992009-09-24T15:07:34.244-07:002009-09-24T15:07:34.244-07:00Nothing skulking in the lunar lagrange points, the...Nothing skulking in the lunar lagrange points, then? (Not surprising)Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23969523187717710172009-09-24T11:53:36.707-07:002009-09-24T11:53:36.707-07:00No one is contending that water exists there just ...No one is contending that water exists there just ready to scoop up. They have detected a widely dispersed resonance of individual MOLECULES of water, bonded to the surface regolith.<br /><br />If it were readily usable, don't you think scientists studying Apollo rocks would have noticed some?<br /><br />Oh, I suppose you could imagine passing vast amounts of soil through a heater/extractor and getting a steady drip, like from a bootlegger's still. Very difficult, since the chamber would have to be sealed so the H2o doesn't simply evaporate and drift into space. That makes it a batch process and not a continuous one, much more expensive.<br /><br />I don't see it in the near or medium future.<br /><br />Lunar polar ice is still the thing to hope for. <b>BTW it was Jim Arnold, who was on my doctoral committee, who first proposed looking for lunar ice!</b><br /><br />Problem is, the poles are dynamically harder to reach and leave, by rocket, using up some of the benefit.<br /><br />Gut instinct? Get it from asteroids. Even better? Phobos. Lovely phobos.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69451506765766886412009-09-24T11:39:49.829-07:002009-09-24T11:39:49.829-07:00Dr. Brin,
THAT is a VERY COOL IDEA!
With the ad...Dr. Brin, <br /><br /><b>THAT is a VERY COOL IDEA!</b><br /><br />With the added hook of people at home participating through live MicroContribution during the event while holding online discussions featuring Holocene enhanced chat tools!<br /><br />(which also, btw, would allow detailed <i>decision-process-analysis</i> which has independent value in the marketplace)<br /><br />And one online participant each week can...<br /><i><b>Win a BRAND NEW CAR!</b></i><br /><br />(There's no problem with commercial sponsorship so long as it's a neutral process)<br /><br />It's seems something like that could be entertaining, educational and beneficial for ALL in a <b><i>sponsorable</i></b> configuration!<br /><br />Just <i>spinnin'</i> ideas...Tom Crowlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04444476865484424912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28090220890315247062009-09-24T11:19:06.060-07:002009-09-24T11:19:06.060-07:00I'm curious if Dr. Brin still is against a lun...I'm curious if Dr. Brin still is against a lunar base <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090924-water-moon-confirmed.html" rel="nofollow">in light of the discovery that water or the ingredients needed to make fresh water exists on the Moon</a>. Quoting from the article, "A trio of satellites—including India's recently failed lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1—picked up the light signature of water (H2O) or hydroxyl (OH) or both while mapping the moon."<br /><br />One of the biggest problems with going to Mars is fuel. We need to design an engine that will safely and efficiently transport people to Mars or to anywhere else in the Solar System. While Dr. Brin has long considered Luna to be a dead end... there is now another possibility unfolding: The Moon as a fuel depot.<br /><br />Consider for a moment the cost of bringing fuel up from the Earth's surface. Now consider the cost of bringing fuel up from the Moon's surface... and the fact that we can make fuel for many of the interplanetary engines we've designed from lunar water and other materials.<br /><br />Is then Luna a dead end? Or is it a stepping stool into the solar system as a whole?<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-55064616255470108432009-09-24T11:06:09.263-07:002009-09-24T11:06:09.263-07:00Tony said: "While you didn't directly ref...Tony said: "While you didn't directly refer to Dr Joseph as a creation scientist, you did state that his contention that life could not have spontaneously arisen on Earth was one shared with creation science."<br /><br />Actually, even that is untrue. What I said they have in common was the trait of disbelieving in life-from-nonlife BECAUSE they posit that a living cell would have to self-assemble completely randomly, out of a soup of primitive chemicals.<br /><br />This refusal to consider, or even paraphrase, discuss or even mention, successive Selection and Accumulation is definitely shared by Creation Science and merits mention. Note that I later go on to distinguish Joseph from CS in other ways.<br /><br />Tim, Joseph's particular theory about supernovas is exceedingly poor. As I point out, the solar systems which later go supernova are actually short-lived and extremely poor prospects for life in the first place.<br /><br />Woozle.... THANKS!! That's a great act of text resurrection.<br /><br />I removed the "implicit" part. You have permission. But the title really ought to mention my name, with a link to http://www.davidbrin.com<br /><br />Any chance you can to the other portions posted at the ReformTheLP site?<br />Like: http://www.reformthelp.org/theory/generalizing/foe.php<br /><br />Cultural, one proposal I've seen is to recruit 50 "typica;" red and blue Americans into a Reality Show where they actually spend hours LISTENING to each other and calling witnesses. And see if they move toward consensus.<br /><br />Holocene is meant to develop many open source tools. Nevertheless, it is patented because I feel the patent is a way to draw attention to the fact that NOBODY is doing this stuff!<br /><br />The census sounds like another won dreous Murdochian "issue".David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10143321214911200942009-09-24T07:53:00.825-07:002009-09-24T07:53:00.825-07:00re: Census worker found hanged
From the HuffPost:...re: Census worker found hanged<br /><br />From the HuffPost:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simon-rosenberg/waking-up-to-the-coming-b_b_298326.html" rel="nofollow"><b>Waking Up To the Coming Battle Over the Census</b></a><br /><br /><i>Last night's reports of the murder of a US Census worker will bring national attention to the emerging politics of the Census count, something that we've long been worried about at NDN.<br />In August I posted the following about a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed which signaled the beginning of a new campaign by the right to disrupt the vital Census count next year:<br /><br />For many months now NDN has been making the case that inevitably the right would make a spirited case to prevent the Census, to be conducted next year, from counting undocumented immigrants, or at least using their numbers to influence reapportionment or the allocation of resources by the government (the primary purpose of the every ten year count).<br />Today the Wall Street Journal is running a well-articulated early salvo in this coming battle by John S. Baker and Elliot Stonecipher. It starts off:<br />"Next year's census will determine the apportionment of House members and Electoral College votes for each state. To accomplish these vital constitutional purposes, the enumeration should count only citizens and persons who are legal, permanent residents. But it won't.<br />Instead, the U.S. Census Bureau is set to count all persons physically present in the country--including large numbers who are here illegally. The result will unconstitutionally increase the number of representatives in some states and deprive some other states of their rightful political representation. Citizens of "loser" states should be outraged. Yet few are even aware of what's going on.</i>JuhnDonnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06795417373366495092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-35546946049774549502009-09-24T07:01:56.590-07:002009-09-24T07:01:56.590-07:00RE Sentient Developments Piece... a very good crit...<b>RE</b> <a href="http://www.sentientdevelopments.com/" rel="nofollow">Sentient Developments</a> Piece... a very good critique which captures the essence. Panspermia in some form is a perfectly reasonable hypothesis however Joseph's scenario, while not impossible is one of the less likely ways in which it could take place. And does nothing to clear away the mountain of turtles other than proposing that they be drowned in a hypothetical Martian Methane sea.<br /><br />And...<br /><br /><b>RE</b> Designing for Debate, Tools of Communication and Building a Better Decision Landscape...<br /><br />Its a fundamental that the landscape shapes the evolution that takes place upon it.<br /><br />For that reason, it's critical that standards be established for peer-to-peer interaction upon such a new field of interaction.<br />SO...<br /><br />Part of the thought behind this Debate Proposal, in addition to it's obvious potential for publicity and fundraising... is to begin to lay down those standards, rules, protections, etc...<br /><br />I believe we're talking here about enhancing something very fundamental: <b>association</b> with <b>force</b> ((money representing in a sense, civilization potential energy) and we need to design for rational <i>self-governance</i> and not lizard-brain <i>mob rule</i>.<br /><br />For instance, I could see how structured discussions say between Ralph Nader and Ron Paul on "What is the Proper Role of Government" could generate a bit of interest... or between Andrew Bacevich and William Kristol on "American Exceptionalism"...<br /><br />Or pragmatic discussions on how to approach nuclear power, fish vs farmers in California's central valley, or any of a multitude of very good questions hot for some particular segment of society...<br /><br />Begin to raise the level of debate a bit by encouraging some healthy standards to accompany increased capability of influence and participation made possible by new technologies.<br /><br />I'd hate to see such a system, conversely used in some exploitative manner promoting stupidity rather than wisdom...<br /><br />Chagora's foundation concept, Networked Political MicroContribution, like democracy itself, has some scary potentials which, again like democracy, requires that certain standards of civil society prevail as well as some definite rules... e.g. with Chagora LiveDebate my feeling that contribution recision within some timelimit is probably a good idea to encourage deeper thinking and avoid mob behaviour. It's likely other design elements (such as tools such Holocene may offer) could have significant affect on whether crowd wisdom or information cascade results.<br /><br />I'd hate to throw something like this out there and have Rupert Murdoch, very well capitalized, immediately start putting it together the way he'd like to see it... you know, he'd be hosting debates on whether President Obama should merely be impeached or actually be deported to Africa as an illegal immigrant!<br /><br />Am I being too paranoid?<br /><br />Social Media is doing a lot to bring people of shared interest together.<br /><br />The REAL challenge is designing the landscape to facilitate good working relationships between <b>those that do NOT agree</b> and/or completely mischaracterize each other... in ways that encourage rational and pragmatic approaches and a self-reinforcing culture advancing an Enlightenment mindset. <br /><br />And to NOT leave them to be exploited by other interests who find profit in conflict for conflict's sake with no interest in rational resolution.<br /><br />While I completely believe this debate scheme I've got can be much more than merely self-supporting, it's also possible <b>Foundations</b> would be interested in supporting this process to <b>design for responsible debate</b> before it ends up some new Fox Network show, "Teabaggers vs The Commie Socialists" with Glenn Beck debating Lyndon LaRouche while dancing with the stars! <br /><br />P.S. @Dr. Brin - on additional Holocene work - I've been asked about your position on Open Source? Actually I'm not entirely sure of my own position on it for this as well.<br /><br />CulturalEngineer (at) gmail (dot) comTom Crowlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04444476865484424912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-53157292557695577832009-09-24T05:30:56.573-07:002009-09-24T05:30:56.573-07:00Dr. Brin I've re-posted Models, Maps and Visio...<b>Dr. Brin</b> I've re-posted <a href="http://issuepedia.org/2006-02-18_Models,_Maps_and_Visions_of_Tomorrow/text" rel="nofollow">Models, Maps and Visions of Tomorrow</a>, since archive.org pages can sometimes be maddeningly slow (and do not, as far as I know, provide any means of commenting).<br /><br />Let me know if that looks ok to you, and I'll proceed with the rest of the series as time permits.Woozlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17948248776908775080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9281282792043733812009-09-24T03:15:58.358-07:002009-09-24T03:15:58.358-07:00To me, Dr. Joseph's doubts about life from non...To me, Dr. Joseph's doubts about life from non-life look like he's kicking a difficult problem out of sight. There had to be enough time for the origin of life somewhere, since we live. If this origin happened in another star system, it was this conceptually difficult life from non-life. Even if this universe is the result of a particularly ambitious alien high energy physics experiment, where did they come from? Not that those wouldn't be great stories, but there was an origin, somewhen or where.Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68232249150302957152009-09-23T23:18:15.959-07:002009-09-23T23:18:15.959-07:00While you didn't directly refer to Dr Joseph a...While you didn't directly refer to Dr Joseph as a creation scientist, you did state that his contention that life could not have spontaneously arisen on Earth was one shared with creation science.<br /><br />I'm a ways from the epicentre, but is that census worker meant to be a McVeigh hit?Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77370266813248369392009-09-23T20:43:00.954-07:002009-09-23T20:43:00.954-07:00Census Worker Hanged: Bill Sparkman Found With &qu...<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/23/census-worker-hanged-with_n_297114.html" rel="nofollow">Census Worker Hanged: Bill Sparkman Found With "Fed" On Body</a>David McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16603857353437134459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-67640953885296006722009-09-23T19:47:41.293-07:002009-09-23T19:47:41.293-07:00See my latest big blog posting at:
http://www.sen...See my latest big blog posting at:<br /><br />http://www.sentientdevelopments.com/<br /><br />!!<br /><br />Why there instead of here? The topic, mostly.<br /><br />Anyway, you guys should find it interesting.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5397374693208443142009-09-23T15:49:10.797-07:002009-09-23T15:49:10.797-07:00http://web.archive.org/web/20071012140019/www.refo...http://web.archive.org/web/20071012140019/www.reformthelp.org/marketing/positioning/models.phpFurthurnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8097199183570401842009-09-23T10:13:31.454-07:002009-09-23T10:13:31.454-07:00Thanks Woozle. You are valuable.
All: here's...Thanks Woozle. You are valuable.<br /><br />All: here's a very brief summary of my own alternative political "axis" model. Naturally, I think it is the best one around!<br /><br />http://www.issuepedia.org/Political_ideological_spectra<br /><br />Alas, the extended explanation no longer seems to be available at:<br /><br /><br />and... http://www.reformthelp.org/theory/positioning/models.php<br /><br /><br />Pity. I put a lot of work into those articles. They could use a new home....David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-35051724877044988052009-09-23T08:57:39.734-07:002009-09-23T08:57:39.734-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.hormonal disordershttp://www.disorderhormonal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-78845205847357612822009-09-23T06:42:03.646-07:002009-09-23T06:42:03.646-07:00Oh, political axes... by all means feel free to po...Oh, political axes... by all means feel free to post it, let's say, <a href="http://issuepedia.org/index.php?title=Political_ideological_spectra/Brin&action=edit" rel="nofollow">here</a> (either anonymously or you can set up an account as you did on HTYP).<br /><br />Please note the <a href="http://www.issuepedia.org/Political_ideological_spectra" rel="nofollow">existing page</a> on this topic, which includes some <a href="http://issuepedia.org/Political_ideological_spectra#Discussion" rel="nofollow">Brin discourse</a>.<br /><br />(Is the "ideological" in the page title redundant, do you think?)Woozlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17948248776908775080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9355613656065297742009-09-23T05:03:03.483-07:002009-09-23T05:03:03.483-07:00I suppose Pournelle's political axis better re...I suppose Pournelle's political axis better reflects reality, but the left-right spectrum is easier for me to visualize. I saw it as a circle, with political moderates on the near side, and at furthest right and furthest left you'd find NAZIs and bolsheviks giving each other the stink-eye. Here's another mental exercise, think of something done by a politician you like, then try to imagine what you would have thought if a politician you despise had done it.Tim H.noreply@blogger.com