Author: paul

wanna sci-fi novel plot?

Reading a piece the other day about Ray Kuzweil and his pill regime — he has a person on staff to manage his nutritional supplements — in his efforts to read the TechnoRapture Singularity, yet another bad SF novel plot came to me…. Assuming the Singularity is reached and bunches of those who can afford to reboot their consciousness into a machine do so, what happens to the rest of the people?

Reading a piece the other day that mentioned Ray Kuzweil and his pill regime — he has a person on staff to manage his nutritional supplements — in his efforts to reach the TechnoRapture Singularity, yet another bad SF novel plot came to me.

What if . . . .

So we know the carrying capacity of the planet is something less than the 6.1 billion we have now if we all want to live like Westerners. Assuming the Singularity is reached and bunches of those who can afford to reboot their consciousness into a machine do so, what happens to the rest of the people?

This could be a kind of sideways Left Behind story, where the post-human/trans-humans (trannies? heh) have to take care of their machinery and power sources and the people who are still made of flesh are just getting by, doing what humans do.

But what if the power source or some other resource becomes an object of contention what then? Who do you root for? The Superior Beings or the ones we resemble most? Do human needs and desires survive the transition? Do the trannies hate the fleshies and why? Out of jealousy that they still have their bodies and all the sensations that come with it? or out of loathing that they have not been able or willing to migrate? And how do the meatsacks feel about the others? Hate them? Fear them? Envy them?

So tell if this has been done, if you know. The more I make notes, the more I feel like exploring it myself.

now with WordPress 2.5

the auto-updating plugin manager doesn’t without typing in a lot stuff (like the ftp URI of the updates)…. well formed XML/an RSS feed seems like a logical way to handle and not all plugins work and likely won’t until I feel like upgrading them by hand as well.

Coulda been a seamless upgrade if I had been more awake. But it seems to work.

Quibbles:

  • the design UI doesn’t really know what theme you have selected.
  • the auto-updating plugin manager doesn’t without typing in a lot stuff (like the ftp URI of the updates). seems to be a well thought-out plugin manager/registry would have all that information. well formed XML/an RSS feed seems like a logical way to handle it d’oh, looks like it actually wants an inbound ftp connection. Hmm, that’s actually worse. Why not fetch it over http?
  • and not all plugins work and likely won’t until I feel like upgrading them by hand as well.

I wondered about this too

It recently occurred to me, though, that I have no idea what the energy usage or environmental impact of keeping a pound of strawberries frozen for a year, as compared to shipping them fresh from Mexico in February, is…. Similarly, those bagged salads look convenient, but they have kept at a constant temperature of 34° from picking, through trimming and prep and packaged, to shipping and storage.


On the other hand, we buy frozen berries all the time, and this seems perfectly reasonable to me. Pick it when it’s ripe, and freeze it — it won’t be fresh, but at least it’ll have some flavor. It recently occurred to me, though, that I have no idea what the energy usage or environmental impact of keeping a pound of strawberries frozen for a year, as compared to shipping them fresh from Mexico in February, is. It seems perfectly possible that I’m pluming myself on eating low-impact, while actually doing more environmental damage. Anyone have any idea how the math works out on this one?
[From Unfogged]

The same question applies to seafood and fish. I suspected the frozen variety has lower costs that the out of season tran-shipped version, with the added benefit of better taste and texture. Similarly, those bagged salads look convenient, but they have kept at a constant temperature of 34° from picking, through trimming and prep and packaged, to shipping and storage. Better to buy whole heads and trim: compost the trimmings.

hey, why’s it gone all dark?

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.
[From Google]

We observed it here in Seattle. Even the big light towers at our local sports park went off at the stroke of 8. It was interesting to sit around by candlelight . . . .

nicely put

I could have used this when the CEO of my last tech company openly complained that the lack of a calendaring system was “killing the company.” Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings– they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

I could have used this when the CEO of my last tech company openly complained that the lack of a calendaring system was “killing the company.”

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings– they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

[From The Disavowed]

news flash: speed traps aren’t about safety

If you ever need an example to demonstrate that security is a function of agenda, use this story about speed cameras…. [From Speeding Tickets and Agenda ] As for the proposed solution, it depends on the problem you’re trying to solve.

Slightly off target: this is actually an example of law enforcement as a function of revenue.

If you ever need an example to demonstrate that security is a function of agenda, use this story about speed cameras. Cities that have installed speed cameras are discovering motorists are driving slower, which is decreasing revenues from fines. So they’re turning the cameras off.

Perhaps a better solution would be to raise the fines to the remaining speeders to make up for the lost revenue?

[From Speeding Tickets and Agenda]

As for the proposed solution, it depends on the problem you’re trying to solve. If you’re trying to pull in revenue, that dictates one approach. If you’re after safety, that suggests another.

More wisdom from Ike

He may not have been one the greatest occupants of the White House, but he knew a few things about the human condition. “When you are in any contest you should work as if there were – to the very last minute – a chance to lose it.”

He may not have been one the greatest occupants of the White House, but he knew a few things about the human condition.


“When you are in any contest you should work as if there were – to the very last minute – a chance to lose it.”

[From Dwight D. Eisenhower]

phrases I hate

But if they mean a modern embodiment of classic values, as this little boat seems to demonstrate, I can accept it…. Nothing half so worth doing as messing about in boats, and as springs draws out, I feel the call of the water.

“Modern classic” is one of those annoyances I hear and want to ask the speaker what they mean. But if they mean a modern embodiment of classic values, as this little boat seems to demonstrate, I can accept it. Now if they would re-phrase it.

Nothing half so worth doing as messing about in boats, and as springs draws out, I feel the call of the water. But that little beauty wouldn’t be cheap to build, for all its lightweight appearance.