Posts by Kracklite
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As proven by calculations, which Jared Diamond refers to in his book 'Collapse' the earth can sustain an efficient community of a couple of billions (should be at least a billion more than nowadays).
I'm afraid that that is simply incomprehensible. First, asserting that something is "proven by calculations" as an absolute in such matters is rather naive ("the theory was correct, but unfortunately reality was at fault") and the following statement that "a couple of billions" is "at least a billion more than the present population of approximately seven billion" makes no sense. Moreover, whether or not a given number exists now is irrelevant - the question is whether they can continue to exist. I might agree with you, but I have no idea what you are trying to say.
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Now abuse really don't have any ground for me
Now I'm not the most civil of individuals here, and when I'm uncivil, I don't necessarily redeem myself with colourful wit (Hi, Craig), but I do have to say that I avoid most blogs as I would tar babies because of their intractible tendency towards simian poo-flinging. PA is attractive to me because of its avoidance of that sort of behaviour.
I'd be most disappointed if it descended to those depths as routine, and alas, there seems to be rather a lot of it here lately.
(In Wellington, it's the humid Northerlies that sets me on edge and I suspect that I have strange form or Seasonal Affective Disorder that causes me to be depressed an irritable during our alleged "Spring", but that can hardly apply to everyone everywhere.)
What makes PA and Hard news so attractive is the tacit mutual agreement that it should be actively maintained as a polite venue - or at least a place where disagreement is viewed only as disagreement and not an intrinsic moral deficiency.
I'm personally surprised at how light a hand RB has to use, but then perhaps I undervalue the understanding of the majority of participants here.
where you deny any knowledge about animal awareness of mortality at the first point and state it as a fact later on in the same sentence.
OK, now that's an interesting philosophical issue. There's no need to be so aggressive about it. Make a suggestion, propose a counter-argument. That will be much more interesting than a mere condemnation. Best of all, provide evidence.
As for Conseisuyewgfyiuee8yua7rty-I don't care whatever their handle is, or Lil more-cat-walking-across-keyboard, I just filter that out. Offensiveness can be ignored - life, after all, is far too short to take insults from idiots seriously (though Blake says in his Proverbs of Hell, "Listen to the fool's tirade - it is a kingly title."). Incoherent gibberish pretending to be artiness is even less interesting than white noise. I just skip it and I'm sure a lot of other people do too. I'm sure that the worst thing than any narcissist can experience - and all trolls are essentially narcissists - is to be ignored not because they are rude, but to be casually ignored because it is plainly obvious that they are irrelevant idiots who have never had anything to say and never will.
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That is a thought, which could lead us to an application of ecosystem principles, like cycling loops and overall system performance, in our economic system.
One of the serious problems I have with the big-G Greens is their devotion, actually, fixation on the zero-sum game of an earth-based economy, which leads into a labyrinth of ever-diminishing circles. That might be OK for a limited population of about a hundred million globally subsisting on cold lentils, but certainly not for seven billion or more who - damn them for being human - like steak.
Utilising the resources of the broader Solar System would break us out of that bind, but the proponents of space-based economic growth at of the ultra-capitalist type who see simply unlimited horizons of consumption - I suspect that they would be very surprised to find that the key to survival in a harsh environment lies in maximising efficiency and minimising both consumption and waste, so space colonisation might well offer guides to healthy green living in unexpected ways...
Actually, engineers working in the area of space architecture are applying the lessons that they've learned to habitats in Antarctica and developing nations where efficiency is essential...
I just wish that the Greens would overcome their ingrained Luddism and appreciate advanced science and technology as being necessary to support a population of billions because a population few thousand Ents ain't gonna happen, 'cos nice doesn't equal real. I also wish that the ultracapitalists would realise that the ultimate expansion of their dreams off-world will teach them lessons - eg. an application of ecosystem principles, like cycling loops and overall system performance - they don't want to learn.
Since Ecksmass is nearing, I also wish that Santa Claus was real beacuse the Sanity Clause has long since been ruled to be hopelessly impractial.
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As Blackadder said, I think it rhymes with "clucking bell"
Clapton/Cthulhu, Goff is so coitusing depressing.
When I was an undergraduate when he was Minister of Ed and Annette King was my electorate MP, she sent an extremely patronising letter to me about the need to student fees when they had had essentially free educations. I think that was when Roger Douglas was PM. Now Goff thinks his PM is or should be Winston Peters. I can't intromissioning believe that they're running the whole penetrationing/invaginationing show now.
What adds insult to injury is the sheer formation-of-complete-diploid-genoming incompetence of it after Clark.
Zeus/Adama, there used to be a Labour Party once - my late father told me about it, so it must be true. If they existed now, I might vote for them.
So they have Chris bloody Trotter's vote, Whoop-de-fucking (there, I said it!) -do.
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I was seriously pissed off by how bad FlashForward was because it had everything going for it: An intriguing premise based on a damn good novel by Robert J. Sawyer (that rare 'hard' SF writer who can also manage non-cardboard characterisation)
As far as Canadian SF goes, I prefer Peter Watts and honorary Canadians such as Robert Charles Wilson and William Gibson, but that's my dark sense of humour.
I'm just waiting for the rumours about The Forever War and Gateway being turned into films to come to fruition (and how are they for non-cardboard characterisation, eh?). Either would make good miniseries (more so than films, actually) and could generate good open-ended series as well.
Hell, Niven's "Known Space" universe would be a good basis for a series. Even if, in essence, it's all set in a Californian lounge bar, it's a lot more damned fun than the earnest Star Trek and Puppeteers are certainly more interesting than Vulcans. When is TV SF going to catch up with the written form of even the sixties?(Coming soon to Channel Three: The Ticket That Exploded , starring...)
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(If we ever get a chance, look at the complete fucking mess the first five episodes of Dollhouse are. In effect, they're five increasingly annoying pilots in a row. The show get a lot better when Whedon -- who assumes that not every viewer has ADHD -- is firmly in control.)
Not seen it, alas, 'cos I have neither reception (Aro Valley - that explains everything) nor Sky/whatever, but alas, I've read that Dollhouse has now gone the way of Firefly
And compared to the major disappointments for fans of SF TV this year
Ah, well, is Sturgeon's Law any consolation?
All I can say is: Can't wait for Caprica and the debut of the Eleventh Doctor.
Amen. Fingers making non-Euclidean hyperbolic knots for Caprica . At least I am certain that Bear McCreary's score will be good.
Oh, and it will have James Marsters (Spike) in it.
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My theory is that Lucy is the first visible manifestation of some emergent Iain Banks-style AI, like HAL, but nicer.
How about GERTY? GERTY's nice. "I'm here to help you, Sam. That's what I do." See Moon
So, Lucy, are you a sock puppet for GERTY? If so, then that's one I can welcome.
Anyway, First Life snatches me away for a few days and all the trolls break loose... Conseismnal, Clive, Dubmugga... Jeeze, what a collective waste of oxygen...
Islander, if you're ever in Wellington, please let me know.
I just have more faith that the solution lies with a technological genius for our time coming along than the ability for governments to police big busines
Hmph. I have no doubt that technology will deliver some surprises, but that is assuming that we can continue technological development... and that is dependent on economic circumstances, and as is often pointed out, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ecology , a rather... um, contingent proposition. We still have no guarantees that science and its application, technology, will deliver exactly what we ask for.
Aside/sidebar. Yes, Clarke said that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - but then, stories about magic tend to emphasise the limitations, the rules, the obscure clauses and the prices that have to be paid. Beware. Personally, I'm not going to resign myself to a life in a grass hut, a meal of cold lentils and prayers to Saint William Morris, but I'll take the "least worst" solution of nuclear power and my (hypothetical) childrens' life in a managed "garden Earth" knowing that it still has a severe price. Fingers crossed...
Technology might "solve" our immediate problems, but whatever happens, it will never be business as usual ever again. It never is.
(Exit with ringing of bells, "The End is Nigh" sandwich board and iPod)
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While I'm busily avoiding work:
Just to wildly retangent back to the original topic, Trotter is exactly the kind of fuckhead who kept me from becoming interested in the Labour party as a young'un.
As a straight white middle-aged (in denial) male, the phallocephalic Trotter is certainly the sort of... sort of... um... mammal that puts me off the "official" left. Whenever he bleats "solidarity", he means "you will show solidarity with me and I will not bother showing solidarity with you - splitter!" If that's the road Goff's Labour party is going to follow, then I bid adieu.
The behaviour of the local People's Front of Judea/Worker's Party recently showed that they're just a pack of self-aggrandising bigoted wankers too, the Greens are shocked that we have genes, water is a chemical and want to ban the sun because it's nuclear powered (OK, mild hyperbole... but it's only mild, alas).
What's left now? Or what's Left now?
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I apologise ...why I thought some nasty reality was an appropriate response.
No apology necessary amongst this crowd as I perceive the exchange of informed opinions as opposed to the exchange of offence, surely - if I can call you Shirley (damn, that doesn't work in text).
And:
there are so many other effects of climate change that are perfectly motivatory (and less likely to give people disaster-movie flashbacks.) Call that unrealistic if you will.
Strategically, yes, argument focussed on relatively mild[sic!] scenarios probably works in the medium term. What I think will happen longer-term and what could be done now, realistically exist at different levels and timescales, so I don't disagree with you.
And:
Of course, we're still pretty much screwed for ways to stop anything sizeable - or most things that aren't - but forewarning is a nice first step.
There are some technologies that are potentially feasible for smaller-scale stuff, but the realistic ones do require forewarning, indeed.
funding for good telescope coverage will do way more than manned exploration, as sad as I am to say it.
"Back up your hard drive" should be a principle for civilisation, I feel. You can't live on Mars without a spacesuit or a couple of millennia of terraforming (that's about how long it will take to thaw the permafrost even if you import a nice cosy atmosphere), but how many Inuit (a) are nudists or (b) move to Tanzania (the natural home of humanity)?
When you consider timescales, a lot of strategies are less opposed than complementary - some are proper and politically feasible medium term and others are good long-term investments that deserve a steady lifeline of funding too.
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Gladly! While I am indubitably an Arovalleyite for now (and I have had the Kaka perching on my head to prove it), I grew up in Dunedin and the mainland is surely my homeland.