Re: Googlism, a bit of fun among the grimm

[Deborah Harrell]

--- Sonja van Baardwijk-Holten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> > For those with a vaguely notable web presence.
> > <>
> >
> Sonja is sick of spineless men was the first one
> that came up for filling in
> my first name. I wonder what that's supposed to
> mean. :o)

My full name was not notable, but Debbi? a few
funnies:

debbi is an unusual breed of desert scavenger capable 
of forcing creatures much larger than itself into
flight from watering holes and from their prey [LOL!]

debbi is a member of the national cosmetic tattooing
association and the florida medical esthetic
association  [the tattoo queen?  ]

debbi is exhausted by the time she arrives anywhere
debbi is an angelic intuitive
debbi is going to find herself "with child"  [!!??**]

debbi is the sixth fastest 100m hurdler in australian
history  [Not a runner or jumper, not even a hurler!]
debbi is “born to be organized”  [boy is *this* wrong]

debbi is an expert in much more than chocolate chips
debbi is "the greatest example of godliness i've ever
known"  [somebody needs to meet more people!  :D ]

debbi is in classic black sexy lingerie
debbi is one of the greatest people alive on this
planet  [well, my cats think so =^.^=]
debbi is presently working on her twentieth novel for
harlequin  ["Her bosom heaved in expectation..."]

And my favorite:
debbi is bred to rasmatas for a may foal  []

At Last I've Become What I Wanted To Be When I Was A
First-Grader Maru

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Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Deborah Harrell]

--- Bradford DeLong <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
 
> Were I an omnipotent omniscient omnibenevolent God,
> such translation 
> errors are things that I would be sure were *not*
> made.
> 
> But maybe he has a really weird sense of humor.

The cats look at me in a pitying way at this point,
then resume grooming.  But I know they think Man is
clear proof of the Creator's occasional bouts of
silliness. (They, naturally, are evidence of the
finest planning and craftwork.)

Even Math Can't Prove Them Wrong Maru  ;)

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Re: religion is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Deborah Harrell]

--- The Fool <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
 
> I advocate logic.  Religion is illogical.  I want
> people to understand
> just how illogical their idiocy is.  I want people
> who undertand that
> religion is idiocy, to stop having religion and stop
> trying to force idiocy on other people.

Do you know how many people believe in a Divinity and
have no interest in 'forcing it' on anyone? Who in
fact believe that the very notion of "forced worship"
is as oxymoronic as "dark brightness," and actually
ascribe to the 'live and let live' school of thought?

Many human pursuits are illogical - love, golf and
football come to mind  - but that doesn't mean
they are unworthy endeavors.

By 'religion' do you mean only an organized
institution, or are you lumping together
'spirituality' or 'spiritual life' under that word? 
If the latter, that is inaccurate, as many spiritual
people have nothing to do with any organized religion.
 And while there is no question that fanatic
fundamentalists of any flavor have done - and continue
to do - a great deal of physical and emotional harm
around the world, it is equally silly to deny the good
that some religious organizations have done.

(Since I'm familiar with Lutheran World Relief, I'm
using them.)  From their website:
http://www.lwr.org/index.html

"LWR shares aid on the basis of need now, and forges
long-term partnerships for the road ahead. Poor
communities and refugees receive assistance from LWR
as they work to secure:

Water, food - for today and next year 
Health care, clothing, shelter, warmth 
Literacy, education, skills training 
Strong, representative community organizations
Full participation of women / A voice for the poor 

In obedience to God and for the sake of the world,
Lutheran World Relief lives by these core values:

Faith is Active in Love
God Gives All People Dignity
We Serve With Partners
We Make Good Use of God's Gifts
We Work for Justice and Peace"

Their financial statements, available on-site, show
that only ~5% of the money taken in goes to
administrative/fundraising activities; the rest goes
to actual relief programs.  The BBB also has their
finances for the year ending 9/01:
http://www.give.org/reports/care_dyn.asp?258

A veterinarian friend who works with the Heifer
Project
 http://www.heifer.org/about_hpi/index.htm
(and is almost militantly atheist) was impressed that
the LWR people she worked with in the field (Zimbabwe,
China) did no proselytizing, although they would
answer 'Because it pleases God that I do this work'
when asked why they were helping (and I'm sure would
elaborate if the questioner asked more).

Debbi
?Former Seminarian Maru

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Uplift Urbane Legend #13

[Medievalbk]

Thirteen. The unlucky number. 

I guess this means you have been warned.

The proto-Synthian were arboreal. They clung to trees.

See the split toe shoes that the Synthian is wearing in the picture 
on page 57 of Contacting Aliens? A Synthian can climb a tree by 
only having his or her toes clamped onto a branch that is small 
enough to fit the curve that exists between the toes.

A Synthian can crack walnuts between their toes.

Note the warning about when a female Synthian seems to be 
flirting.

A smart male reader will be able to put two and two together 
and realize that we're not really talking about walnuts.

William Taylor

Which is better?
Titanium or Kevlar.
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Re: Verifying the US Constitution (Was: religion is evil...)

[Ronn! Blankenship]

At 08:05 PM 11/29/02 -0800, Deborah Harrell wrote:


No one has responded to my (much) earlier question
about fertility treatments and the production of
litters of humans, many of whom are premature and
will/do have severe defects.  Was that God's choice,
or did those parents ignore a heavenly mandate ('you
are infertile') and artificially defeat God's will?



Good question.  I don't know the answer.


--Ronn! :)

I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle


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Re: Verifying the US Constitution (Was: religion is evil...)

[Deborah Harrell]

--- "John D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
 
> Moreover, you also missed the point that I know that
> some States wish to
> ban abortion within their borders, and the US
> Supreme Court is apparently
> violating these States' 10th Amendment Rights by
> forcing these States to
> permit abortions within their borders.

Just as the Feds decided that no State could provide
"separate but equal" education for blacks, forcing
those States to school whites and blacks together. 
Would you argue that that was not within the Federal
purview?

As for the numbers of people who prefer a choice to
none, I posted stats back in the summer, and am not
going to redo that.  But I will say - again - that
much in medicine is shades of gray, not black and
white.  For a particular patient, the course I think
best for them is what I choose (naturally, consulting
the patient and specialists if that level of expertise
is called for).  Some people will die no matter what
course is chosen.  

No one has responded to my (much) earlier question
about fertility treatments and the production of
litters of humans, many of whom are premature and
will/do have severe defects.  Was that God's choice,
or did those parents ignore a heavenly mandate ('you
are infertile') and artificially defeat God's will?

Debbi
and that is not a rhetorical question

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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[Julia Thompson]

"Ronn! Blankenship" wrote:

> Am I the only one who thought of the flash-bang grenades used by hostage
> rescue teams:  a blinding light and deafening noise that grabs everyone's
> attention, but otherwise little effect . . .

Yes.  ;)

> Professional Smart-Aleck.  Do Not Attempt.

Whoops

Julia

who will get around to answering other stuff before next weekend, really
she will
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Re: Business plan competition

[Doug]

Ronn! Blankenship wrote:




Some people still need a reminder . . .


If The Opposite Of Pro Is Con, What Is The Opposite Of Progress Maru


Bush? *




--Ronn! :)

The list told me to change my .sig quote, so I did


Now that's not what I meant!  I just hope it's wrong.  Eventually. 
Maybe.  Before I die


Doug

*You asked. 8^)


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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[Ronn! Blankenship]

At 11:17 AM 11/29/02 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:


- Original Message -
From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "Lalith Vipulananthan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 5:00 AM
Subject: Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!


> At 00:16 29-11-2002 +, Lalith Vipulananthan wrote:
>
> >Am I the only one who is getting sick of these "Blah blah blah is evil".
> >Enough
> >is enough. Thank you.
>
>  From the Etiquette Guidelines:
>
> "We are tolerant of subject threads that bore us to death."
> "Extensive discussions that get into the nitty-gritty of the subject are
> welcome."
>
> So, Lal, if you do not like that discussion, just ignore it.
>

True enough

> I am not thrilled about the daily dosis of nonsense posts from William
> Taylor, but rather than complain about it I simply ignore them.
>

Humorless! PFFTTT

>
> >GSV And Don't Get Me Started On The Resident Brin-L Mail-Bomber
>
> I assume you are referring to me. Well, I can assure that I have never
been
> involved in any mailbombing. At
> http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld021.htm, mailbombing is correctly
> defined as: "Enough email intentionally delivered to a mailbox to overload
> it or its host system". I have never done such a thing. But you are of
> course free to prove me wrong.
>

More like mailgrenading!




Am I the only one who thought of the flash-bang grenades used by hostage 
rescue teams:  a blinding light and deafening noise that grabs everyone's 
attention, but otherwise little effect . . .


-- Ronn!  :)

Professional Smart-Aleck.  Do Not Attempt.


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Re: Business plan competition

[Ronn! Blankenship]

At 10:18 AM 11/29/02 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:


- Original Message -
From: "Doug" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: Business plan competition


> I have neither the business nor the scientific acumen to criticize your
> plan, but I think it's a very exciting idea.  I have always assumed that
> space exploration will never really take off until there is enough
> economic incentive to help defray the costs.  This is the kind of thing
> that can get us going (and get that damned Pournelle quote out of Ronn's
> sig 8^) ).
>

Yeah!
That Ronn is always bringing us down!


xponent
I Agree With The Sig Though Maru
rob




Some people still need a reminder . . .


If The Opposite Of Pro Is Con, What Is The Opposite Of Progress Maru



--Ronn! :)

The list told me to change my .sig quote, so I did


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Re: Scouted: Googlism

[Ronn! Blankenship]

At 12:54 PM 11/29/02 +0100, J. van Baardwijk wrote:

At 10:02 28-11-2002 +1000, Russell Chapman wrote:


J. van Baardwijk wrote:


jeroen died of viral myocarditis
jeroen unfortunately died on January 22, 1999
jeroen has been cured



Medicine is pretty advanced in the Netherlands...


Yep -- it brought me back from the Afterlife.

Once in the Afterlife, very few are allowed to go back -- it is only 
allowed roughly once every 2,000 years. This of course proves that I must 
be a god-creature.

So, all of you, get down on your knees and worship me!   :-)


IIRC, it is also one of the distinctive characteristics of the Antichrist . . .



--Ronn! :)

Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit, Even If It's Only A One-Line Reply Maru

I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle


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RE: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Nick Arnett]

> -Original Message-
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of Doug
> Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 2:44 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated
>
>
> Nick Arnett wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >It's really only a minority that believes wacko ideas such as
> dinosaur bones
> >being a trick of the devil.  But we live in a time when the more wacky an
> >idea is, the more media attention it gets.
> >
> I know, I know, I wasn't really being serious at all.  Sorry if it
> sounded like I was.

Hey, I'm just eager to make the point... ;-)

Nick

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Meetings are evil, why they must be eradicated (was Re: Productivity/Creativity)

[Ronn! Blankenship]

At 11:49 AM 11/29/02 +0100, J. van Baardwijk wrote:

At 19:06 28-11-2002 -0500, Dee Daley wrote:


Jeroen wrote-
Following that reasoning, the job could be done in only six months by
working 24 hours per day. Unfortunately, it is more complicated than that.
Things like the need for rest, recreation and social activities tend to get
in the way.

Dee-
This reminds me of the "global" company approach that was touted years
ago.  I don't hear much about it now, but it involved 2-3 sets of individuals
around the world on a single team.  A project could be started by one
person in the morning and handed off to someone in another time zone,
to allow for a kind of continuous problem solving/programming.


That works for things like programming and support, but it has one major 
flaw when applied to projects as a whole: it is impossible to hold the 
(time-consuming but necessary) meetings (even when using methods like chat 
or video conferencing), because there will also be members of the project 
group for whom the scheduled time will be in the wee hours of the night -- 
during which they will probably be asleep.


Another problem which Brooks points out is that as the number of people 
working on the same project increases, the number and length of meetings 
necessary for co-ordination between the workers (even if they are in the 
same building) also increases, to the point where adding additional people 
to the project may actually slow the project down because the additional 
man-hours required for discussion and co-ordination among the team members 
(whether formal staff meetings or just one person interrupting another with 
a phone call) will actually exceed the number of man-hours that the new 
people can spend actually writing code (or whatever the job is) . . .



--Ronn! :)

I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle


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RE: [LINK] AAAIIIIEEEE!!!!! The horror! The horror!

[Deborah Harrell]

--- Gary Nunn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 
> Courtesy of Adam's sadistic humor
> > 
> http://homepage.mac.com/msparby/iMovieTheater5.html
> > *blink*
> > *twitch*
> > Make it stop
> > Adam C. Lipscomb
> 
>  started watching this, and even though little
> explosions were going off in
> my head, it was much like driving by a car wreck -
> you can't help but look.
> Now that damn song is stuck in my head.

???
It just says "the homepage you requested is not
available" - did they kick it off?

Looks Like I Missed A Funny Maru
(only 309 posts to go...)

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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 13:09 29-11-2002 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:


Jeroen, are you so humorless and overly sensitive that you do not recognise
humor when you see it?


Over the last week or so, Brin-L has pretty much killed my sense of humour.


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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RE: Animation

[Jon Gabriel]

As Stan Lee said, "He seems to have an unhealthy obsession with
superhero genitalia."
:-)
Jon


-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2002 4:08 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Animation

I'm looking to do some animated shorts for some of my character
sketches, 
which y'all may or may not have read about rightchyere on this list and
in 
other newsgroups.  If any of y'all have some animation experience you
might 
want to comment on this type of scene.

I've created some "morphs" for the super-heroeene who is all woman, all 
beautiful, and all powerful.  An "Angel" or "Deva" or Secret Agent
Fatale', 
if you will.  They're all young, all comic-bookish in that the femme
side of 
themselves have been exaggerated, just as in the latest depictions of 
thigh-booted women with perky nubiles you get to see in the$2.95 mags.  
Adolescent male fantasy, perhaps.


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One thing Football I'd like to see.

[Medievalbk]

This one's for Giorgis, et al.

Without telling the broadcast team in the booth, I'd like to see a team get 
together with the computer guys and a willing official.

As the offense huddles, I'd like to see the defense pick up the yellow line 
and 
move it back five or ten yards

Just like a Sharpie--do only one time.

William Taylor

Lute Lute Lute

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Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Doug]

Nick Arnett wrote:




It's really only a minority that believes wacko ideas such as dinosaur bones
being a trick of the devil.  But we live in a time when the more wacky an
idea is, the more media attention it gets.


I know, I know, I wasn't really being serious at all.  Sorry if it 
sounded like I was.

Doug


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Re: Social Security is Evil and Must Be Eradicated

[John Garcia]

On Wednesday, November 27, 2002, at 08:01  PM, John D. Giorgis wrote:


At 07:23 PM 11/27/2002 -0500 John Garcia should have wrote:

As for Reagan's greatness, I'll stack him up against ANY President in 
the
latter half of the 20th Century. All pale in comparison.

:)
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now why would i have done that? ;-)

Belated Thanksgiving Greetings to you all, and

Happy Hanukkah.

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Big Planets Form in Hundreds of Years, Not Millions

[Robert Seeberger]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=SIL3UERWX5D3YCRBAEKSFFA?
type=scienceNews&storyID=1822299

Astronomers unveiled a quick new recipe for creating big planets, using
high-powered supercomputer calculations to show these gassy giants could
form in hundreds of years, instead of millions.
Most scientists have maintained that planets the size of Jupiter, the
largest in our solar system, take several million years to coalesce out of
the massive disks of cosmic debris that surround infant stars.

But research published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science
indicates that these monstrous disks tend to break up after just a few turns
around their star.

As the disk breaks up, matter begins to clump together quickly and starts to
draw in the gases that would otherwise go to form vapor shrouds around
Jupiter-style gas giant planets.

Planets have to form during this early period or the cosmic gas and dust
that would make them is pulled away and dissipated by radiation from nearby
stars, U.S. and Canadian scientists found.

"If a big gas planet can't form quickly, it probably won't form at all,"
astronomer Thomas Quinn of the University of Washington, one of the authors
of the Science report, said in a telephone interview.

Recent research on so-called extrasolar planets orbiting stars outside our
solar system lends support to this theory.

JUPITER-TYPE PLANETS

The fact that astronomers have detected more than 100 Jupiter-type gas giant
planets orbiting other stars besides our sun indicates that these big
planets are fairly common, Quinn said.

If Quinn and his colleagues are correct, this means that most big planets
formed quickly; if they had followed the multimillion-year model, gas giants
would be expected to be rare, with all the raw materials being sucked off by
neighboring stars over time.

Earlier scientists had theorized that the so-called protoplanetary disks
could congeal quickly to create big planets, but lacked the computing power
to create a simulation that would show this, Quinn said.

Supercomputers running powerful programs designed to track the origins of
the cosmos were able to make the detailed calculations showing how these big
planets might form fast.

"It was pretty clear cut," Quinn said, speaking of the computer simulation.
"We just looked at our visualization and saw those are planets, definitely
of the right masses. They're even rotating as fast as we'd expect, as we see
Jupiter rotating.

Quinn said the computer models did not pinpoint any actual big planets that
formed quickly, but indicated that this scenario could work.



xponent

Plop Maru

rob


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Britain to Publish Files on UFO Sightings

[Robert Seeberger]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=1821504

The British government will publish files on reported UFO sightings as part
of a shake-up of its laws on freedom of information.
Among the documents to be published is the "Rendlesham File," which deals
with one of the country's best known sightings of an unidentified flying
object.

Until now, only about 20 members of the public have seen the file, which
relates to a sighting in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, eastern England, in
1980.

According to some UFO enthusiasts, eyewitnesses including U.S. officers at a
nearby military base saw a brilliantly lit spaceship land in the forest on
two consecutive nights.

Skeptics say the witnesses were fooled by the beam from a lighthouse on the
nearby coast.

The Rendlesham file has been available to the public for some time but only
at the discretion of the Ministry of Defense.

Now, the government says it will publish it on the Internet before the end
of this week, along with other files on reported UFO sightings.

"These first steps mark important progress toward changing the culture of
government and extending the public's right to know what is being done in
their name," Freedom of Information Minister Yvette Cooper said in a
statement.

The government says it intends to repeal or amend up to 100 pieces of
legislation which currently prohibit disclosure of information. It aims to
replace them with provisions of a new Freedom of Information Act, passed in
2000.



xponent

Conspiracy maru

rob


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RE: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Nick Arnett]

> -Original Message-
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of Doug
> Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 11:33 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated
>
>
> Bradford DeLong wrote:
>
> >
> > But maybe he has a really weird sense of humor.
> >
> Well we already know that.  Look at all the phony clues he left to make
> us think that we evolved.

Aack.  There is no conflict between the Bible and evolution, an opinion that
I share with many, many Christians.  As the years go by, I'm more and more
astonished by the silliness of the idea that Darwin somehow eliminated the
possibility of a creator.  Evolution is a fine explanation of how creation
takes place, as far as I'm concerned.  I believe the mechanisms of evolution
are quite a bit more complex than most people imagine, which conflicts with
the "selfish gene" metaphor, but I find it's difficult to even discuss those
issues, especially when people find out I'm Christian and leap to the
conclusion that I'm trying to disprove evolution.

It's really only a minority that believes wacko ideas such as dinosaur bones
being a trick of the devil.  But we live in a time when the more wacky an
idea is, the more media attention it gets.

Nick

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Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Jon Gabriel]

From: Doug <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated
Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2002 11:32:35 -0800

Bradford DeLong wrote:



But maybe he has a really weird sense of humor.


Well we already know that.  Look at all the phony clues he left to make us 
think that we evolved.  And how he made us believe that there were all 
sorts of different gods running the show for thousands of years instead of 
just him (her? it?).  And look how instead of giving us one religion with a 
comprehensive set of rules and regs, we get a religious free for all.

Doug


Just for fun.  I'm sure I've posted this before... it's located at 
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Cathedral/6070/evolve.html

Disclaimer: Offensive to Creationists, Kansans and Dung Beetles.
:-)
Jon
GSV R-evolution

AND SO GOD SAYS TO CHARLES DARWIN: LET THERE BE LIGHT IN KANSAS
Commentary: The Evolution of Education
by Gene Weingarten

"Memo to: The members of the Kansas Board of Education
From: God
Re: Your decision to eliminate the teaching of evolution as science.
 Thank you for your support. Much obliged.
 Now, go forth and multiply. Beget many children. And yea, your 
children shall beget children. And their children shall beget children, and 
their children's children after them. And in time the genes that have made 
you such pinheads will be eliminated through natural selection. Because that 
is how it works.
 Listen, I love all my creatures equally, and gave each his own 
special qualities to help him on Earth. The horse I gave great strength. The 
antelope I gave great grace and speed. The dung beetle I gave great 
stupidity, so he doesn't realize he is a dung beetle. Man I gave a brain.
 Use it, ok?
 I admit I am not perfect. I've made errors. (Armpit hair--what was 
I thinking?)
 But do you Kansans seriously believe that I dropped 
half-a-billion-year-old trilobite skeletons all over my great green Earth by 
mistake?
 What, I had a few lying around some previous creation in the 
Andromeda galaxy, and they fell through a hold in my pocket?
 You were supposed to find them. And once you found them, you were 
supposed to draw the appropriate, intelligent conclusions. That's what I 
made you for. To think.
 The folks who wrote the Bible were smart and good people. Mostly, 
they got it right. But there were glitches. Imprecisions. For one thing, 
they said that Adam and Eve begat Cain and Abel, and then Cain begat Enoch. 
How was that supposed to have happened?
 They left out Tiffany entirely!
 Well, they also were a little off on certain elements of timing 
and sequence. So what?
 You guys were supposed to figure it all out for yourselves, 
anyway. When you stumble over the truth, you are not supposed to pick 
yourself up, dust yourself off and proceed on as though nothing had 
happened. If you find a dinosaur's toe, you're not supposed to look for 
reasons to call it a croissant. You're not big, drooling idiots. For that, I 
made dogs.
 Why do you think there are no fossilized human toes dating from a 
hundred million years ago? Think about it.
 It's OK if you think. In fact, I prefer it. That's why I like 
Charles Darwin. He was always a thinking. Still is. He and I chat 
frequently.
 I know a lot of people figure that if man evolved from other 
organisms, it means I don't exist. I have to admit this is a reasonable 
assumption and a valid line of thought. I am in favor of thought. I 
encourage you to pursue this concept with an open mind, and see where it 
leads you.
 That's all I have to say right now, except that I'm really cheesed 
off at laugh tracks on sitcoms, and the NRA, and people who make simple 
declarative sentences sound like questions?
 Oh, wait. There's one more thing.
 Did you read in the newspapers yesterday how scientists in 
Australia dug up some rocks and found fossilized remains of life dating back 
further than ever before? Primitive, multi-celled animals on Earth nearly 3 
billion years ago, when the planet was nothing but roiling much and ice and 
fire. And inside those cells was...DNA. Incredibly complex strands of 
chemicals, laced together in a scheme so sophisticated no one yet 
understands exactly how it works.
 I wonder who could have thought of something like that, back then.
Just something to gnaw on."

Weingarten is a Washington Post columnist.

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Re: [LINK] E-mail Etiquette

[Jon Gabriel]

From: "Adam C. Lipscomb" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [LINK] E-mail Etiquette
Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2002 06:25:23 -0800 (PST)

Jeroen posted:
Recommended viewing/reading:

E-mail Etiquette, presentation by Dr. Roxanne
Kent-Drury, Asst. Professor, Literature and Language,
Northern Kentucky University.

http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld001.htm (text
version)

http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/index.htm
(graphic version)

Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated"
van Baardwijk
**

I thought slides 4 & 5 were especially informative and
useful, didn't you?

E-mail is toneless compared with face-to-face
communications
Be forgiving of others’ errors
Remember human beings are at the other end
Don’t forward mail without the originator’s permission

Cool off overnight before sending an angry message

E-mail is a legal document
E-mail is more public than a phone call or surface
mail
E-mail remains on the system for a long time (through
backup tapes)
E-mail can be subpoenaed

Thanks for posting this!  Very useful information.  It
should be very helpful for myself and others on the
list!


I agree with Adam, and also thought two later slides which posted the 
following info were just as important, based on the events of the past 
couple of years:

Posting to Lists / Etiquette
   * Monitor the list before posting to it (called lurking)
   * Follow the rules set by the owner
   * Know your audience
   - Discipline, geographical location, nationality
   * Keep it on topic
   - Don’t post or respond to off-topic messages
   * Don’t criticize the list administrator or participants to the list
   * Ignore provocation
 - Reply by private e-mail if annoyed
 - Don’t post flames (purposely inflammatory messages)
 - Don’t respond to flames
   * If you end up in an argument, keep it professional

Adam C. "Moderation has a place, on occasion" Lipscomb


How about, "Moderation is appropriate when the above are violated 
repeatedly"? (This would let one-time offenders off the hook with a warning, 
and only punish chronic abusers.)  BTW, the info area on mccmedia for brin-l 
lists the following warning:

"This list seeks to be self-moderating, but spam will not be tolerated and 
personal attacks may result in administrative restrictions."

Jon

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Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Doug]

Bradford DeLong wrote:



But maybe he has a really weird sense of humor.


Well we already know that.  Look at all the phony clues he left to make 
us think that we evolved.  And how he made us believe that there were 
all sorts of different gods running the show for thousands of years 
instead of just him (her? it?).  And look how instead of giving us one 
religion with a comprehensive set of rules and regs, we get a religious 
free for all.  

Doug


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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[Robert Seeberger]

- Original Message -
From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!


> At 11:17 29-11-2002 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:
>
> > > >GSV And Don't Get Me Started On The Resident Brin-L Mail-Bomber
> > >
> > > I assume you are referring to me. Well, I can assure that I have never
> > > been involved in any mailbombing. At
> > > http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld021.htm, mailbombing is
correctly
> > > defined as: "Enough email intentionally delivered to a mailbox to
overload
> > > it or its host system". I have never done such a thing. But you are of
> > > course free to prove me wrong.
> >
> >More like mailgrenading!
>
> You have so far received 10 messages off-list from me that the list
censors
> did not want you to read. The first nine of them were sent in a time frame
> of 2-3 minutes (the tenth was sent approx. 12 hours later). Please explain
> how (given the above definition of mailbombing) this can be considered a
> mailbombing or mailgrenading, and how sending nine messages over a period
> of three minutes can overload a mailbox or a mailserver. Take into account
> that when you download your Brin-L mail, you often download significantly
> more messages within the same time frame of 2-3 minutes, without
disrupting
> anything.
>

Jeroen, are you so humorless and overly sensitive that you do not recognise
humor when you see it?
Smileys might help, but it also helps to give others the benefit of the
doubt, kick back, and enjoy the show.

You certainly seem to be able to generate humor, so I know you know what it
is.
Not only that, but I know you know I know  you know what it is.
Ya know?

xponent
Chillin Maru
rob


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(* is evil, why it must be eradicated) is evil, why it must beeradicated

[Alberto Monteiro]

Jeroen wrote:  
>   
>> Am I the only one who is getting sick of these  
>> "Blah blah blah is evil".   
>> Enough is enough. Thank you.  
>   
>  From the Etiquette Guidelines:  
>   
> "We are tolerant of subject threads that bore us to death."  
> "Extensive discussions that get into the nitty-gritty  
> of the subject are welcome."  
>   
I think the subject resumes Lalith's point of view 
  
Alberto Monteiro  
  
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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 11:17 29-11-2002 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:


> >GSV And Don't Get Me Started On The Resident Brin-L Mail-Bomber
>
> I assume you are referring to me. Well, I can assure that I have never
> been involved in any mailbombing. At
> http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld021.htm, mailbombing is correctly
> defined as: "Enough email intentionally delivered to a mailbox to overload
> it or its host system". I have never done such a thing. But you are of
> course free to prove me wrong.

More like mailgrenading!


You have so far received 10 messages off-list from me that the list censors 
did not want you to read. The first nine of them were sent in a time frame 
of 2-3 minutes (the tenth was sent approx. 12 hours later). Please explain 
how (given the above definition of mailbombing) this can be considered a 
mailbombing or mailgrenading, and how sending nine messages over a period 
of three minutes can overload a mailbox or a mailserver. Take into account 
that when you download your Brin-L mail, you often download significantly 
more messages within the same time frame of 2-3 minutes, without disrupting 
anything.


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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Re: Methane expulsion, give it a rest please!

[Medievalbk]

In a message dated 11/29/2002 10:51:19 AM US Mountain Standard Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

> > >  Humorless! PFFTTT
>  > >
>  >
>  >
>  > I'll open a window.
>  >
>  > William Taylor
>  > -
>  > Old Fart.
>  
>  "I fart in your general direction"
>  
>  xponent
>  Private Function - General Direction Maru
>  rob

You are aware of the movie, Privates on Parade, aren't you?

No one ever said which set of privates they were talking about.

Read Spike Milligan's war diaries [First one: Adolf Hitler, My Part in his 
Downfall] for 
what enlisted men do at night for entertainment.

[The movie is only on PAL, damn it.]

William Taylor

One of dose days.
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Re: jesus genealogy is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Bradford DeLong]

 > I imagine that the fact that Mary was mentioned in

 this sentence might be interpreted as Jacob being
 _her_ father and not Joseph. You know, translation
 errors from Aramaic to Greek, etc.


Were I an omnipotent omniscient omnibenevolent God, such translation 
errors are things that I would be sure were *not* made.

But maybe he has a really weird sense of humor.


Brad DeLong


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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[Robert Seeberger]

- Original Message -
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 11:44 AM
Subject: Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!


> In a message dated 11/29/2002 10:17:55 AM US Mountain Standard Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> > > I am not thrilled about the daily dosis of nonsense posts from William
> >  > Taylor, but rather than complain about it I simply ignore them.
> >  >
> >
> >  Humorless! PFFTTT
> >
>
>
> I'll open a window.
>
> William Taylor
> -
> Old Fart.

"I fart in your general direction"

xponent
Private Function - General Direction Maru
rob


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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[Medievalbk]

In a message dated 11/29/2002 10:17:55 AM US Mountain Standard Time, 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

> > I am not thrilled about the daily dosis of nonsense posts from William
>  > Taylor, but rather than complain about it I simply ignore them.
>  >
>  
>  Humorless! PFFTTT
>  


I'll open a window.

William Taylor
-
Old Fart.
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Re: Scouted: Googlism

[Robert Seeberger]

- Original Message -
From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 10:21 AM
Subject: Re: Scouted: Googlism


> At 09:31 29-11-2002 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:
>
> > > So, all of you, get down on your knees and worship me!   :-)
> >
> >First we must kill you in a manner most symbolic.
>
> Certainly it has not escaped you that this has (more or less) already
> happened -- say, about a week ago?   :-(
>
>
Well.we are awaiting your ascension into heaven before the worship
starts.
It is considered gauche to worship in the presence of a deity. As long as
you are still here we must persecute you. Its in the rules of Godhood
ya'know.


xponent
Passion Play Maru
rob


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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[Robert Seeberger]

- Original Message -
From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "Lalith Vipulananthan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 5:00 AM
Subject: Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!


> At 00:16 29-11-2002 +, Lalith Vipulananthan wrote:
>
> >Am I the only one who is getting sick of these "Blah blah blah is evil".
> >Enough
> >is enough. Thank you.
>
>  From the Etiquette Guidelines:
>
> "We are tolerant of subject threads that bore us to death."
> "Extensive discussions that get into the nitty-gritty of the subject are
> welcome."
>
> So, Lal, if you do not like that discussion, just ignore it.
>

True enough

> I am not thrilled about the daily dosis of nonsense posts from William
> Taylor, but rather than complain about it I simply ignore them.
>

Humorless! PFFTTT

>
> >GSV And Don't Get Me Started On The Resident Brin-L Mail-Bomber
>
> I assume you are referring to me. Well, I can assure that I have never
been
> involved in any mailbombing. At
> http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld021.htm, mailbombing is correctly
> defined as: "Enough email intentionally delivered to a mailbox to overload
> it or its host system". I have never done such a thing. But you are of
> course free to prove me wrong.
>

More like mailgrenading!


xponent
Sub-Bombing Catagory Maru
rob


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RE: [LINK] E-mail Etiquette

[Nick Arnett]

Had to try "e-mail" on Googlism.  The list becomes, well, interesting, just
before the point at which I ended this selection... starting with "e-mail is
handled."

e-mail is forever
e-mail is not your own
e-mail is a real revolution"
e-mail is key to new palm device
e-mail is
e-mail is airbone and it roars on rails
e-mail is a battlefield
e-mail is everywhere you are
e-mail is not as private as it
e-mail is no
e-mail is now a pay service
e-mail is essential in today's business environment
e-mail is secure?
e-mail is on hard drive
e-mail is ?a choke point?
e-mail is here to stay
e-mail is official means of communication
e-mail is local
e-mail is the hottest email marketing tool available
e-mail is cool again
e-mail is vulnerable to crank calls
e-mail is stuck and does not download
e-mail is currently unavailable
e-mail is not wanted
e-mail is a hoax
e-mail is critical
e-mail is spam
e-mail is more than just annoying
e-mail is a bad idea
e-mail is bad business
e-mail is forever by maryfran johnson august 19
e-mail is popular among internet users
e-mail is evil
e-mail is an electronic message sent from one computer to another
e-mail is private
e-mail is much more than just sending a message
e-mail is cheap to send
e-mail is obsolete
e-mail is evolving into fee
e-mail is so beloved
e-mail is a real revolution" for a cambodian opposition leader
e-mail is a phone call away
e-mail is key to new palm device by richard shim staff writer january 28
e-mail is handled
e-mail is like a penis
e-mail is better than sex
e-mail is all it takes to become a snark customer
e-mail is email

--
Nick Arnett
Phone/fax: (408) 904-7198
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Re: Business plan competition

[Medievalbk]

Will the prices hold if two or three companies do the same thing at the same 
time?
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Re: Scouted: Googlism

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 09:31 29-11-2002 -0600, Robert Seeberger wrote:


> So, all of you, get down on your knees and worship me!   :-)

First we must kill you in a manner most symbolic.


Certainly it has not escaped you that this has (more or less) already 
happened -- say, about a week ago?   :-(


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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RE: moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 22:57 28-11-2002 -0600, John Horn wrote:


> but unfortuantely you were convicted of a crime and put in prison.
>
> Please refrain from making such comments; your statement could
> seriously damage Sonja's career. If it is found that her career is
> indeed damaged (for example, she does not get the high-pay job she
> applied for because the employer found your message and believes your
> statement to be true), you might end up facing some very serious legal
> trouble.

You *are* kidding, right?

Please, please, *please* say you are...


Remember those discussions about the Brin-L Hall of Shame? Some people 
argued that the contents of such a site could seriously damage someone's 
career. Some even mentioned that they would sue me if their careers would 
be damaged because of the Hall of Shame. Do you think *they* were kidding?


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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Re: Alberto, give it a rest please!

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 00:16 29-11-2002 +, Lalith Vipulananthan wrote:


Am I the only one who is getting sick of these "Blah blah blah is evil". 
Enough
is enough. Thank you.

From the Etiquette Guidelines:

"We are tolerant of subject threads that bore us to death."
"Extensive discussions that get into the nitty-gritty of the subject are 
welcome."

So, Lal, if you do not like that discussion, just ignore it.

I am not thrilled about the daily dosis of nonsense posts from William 
Taylor, but rather than complain about it I simply ignore them.


GSV And Don't Get Me Started On The Resident Brin-L Mail-Bomber


I assume you are referring to me. Well, I can assure that I have never been 
involved in any mailbombing. At 
http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld021.htm, mailbombing is correctly 
defined as: "Enough email intentionally delivered to a mailbox to overload 
it or its host system". I have never done such a thing. But you are of 
course free to prove me wrong.


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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Re: Business plan competition

[Doug]

Robert Seeberger wrote:



xponent
I Agree With The Sig Though Maru
rob


Oh, me too, but I hate the fact that it's right.

Doug


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Re: Business plan competition

[Erik Reuter]

On Fri, Nov 29, 2002 at 02:57:44PM +, Richard Baker wrote:

> At the moment, the key element is a solar electolysis factory. We put
> one of those in Earth orbit first. Then we launch blocks of ice to it
> from the Earth.

How much power could you get from the solar cells you would launch with
the electrolysis factory? How long would it take with those cells to
electrolyse enough fuel to transfer a 1 ton satellite to GSO? How much
could you sell that fuel for, and how does that compare to the cost of
building, launching, and deploying the factory? Including the cost of
launching the ice?

> Next we launch a second electrolysis factory with an ice-digger and
> attach it to a transfer vehicle in orbit and shoot it off to land on
> a near-Earth comet. The factory lands, digs out a big block of ice,
> attaches it to the transfer vehicle, electrolyses some cryogen fuel
> and shoots the block of ice back to Earth orbit where it docks with
> the first electrolysis factory.

This sounds tricky. What if the factory misses the comet or crashes on
it? What if it fails to dig out the ice? What if the ice "shot back"
misses or isn't caught properly? Can you quantify the risks?

> Next, we design and build a platinum mine and use one of our transfer
> vehicles to blast it off to a near-Earth asteroid.

Do you have a detailed calculation of the total costs required to mine
the platinum from the asteroids? Can it really be done cheaper than it
could on earth or cheaper than you can sell it for? It seems that the
capital costs for developing and deploying totally new mining equipment
could be huge. But I don't know much about mining. Are current mining
systems totally automated? I thought not, since you still hear about
miners and mining accidents. The system you are describing would be more
difficult than an automated earth mining system, so the question is, are
there automated earth mining systems being used now that can form a cost
model for your system?

> Then we sit here manipulating the market for platinum group metals and
> making ourselves perhaps a hundred billion dollars a year. (Detailed
> calculations to follow.)

Ummm, maybe you shouldn't say it like that. I seem to remember a couple
brothers trying that with Ag and getting a bad rep (not to mention
losing everything)

> At this stage we buy the Middle-Eastern oilfields, because
> hydrocarbons might come in useful.

I guess this is a joke, but just in case it's not, I wouldn't mention
this (it makes it sound like you are an egg-head boffin with no
consideration for political and social issues involved).

> I can repost some old Culture messages that outline why mining
> asteroids and comets is better than mining the Moon, if you'd
> like. I'll also be writing some material in the near future on why the
> inelasticity of the launcher business means that only items with high
> complexity and low mass should be brought up from the surface of the
> Earth (and clearly propellants and structural elements are not in this
> class).

Do you have a list of the risks, like they put in the private placement
documents for investors? The way you present it here, it sounds so
easy that it tends to make me (and I guess many business people) quite
skeptical.



-- 
"Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>   http://www.erikreuter.net/
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Re: Business plan competition

[Robert Seeberger]

- Original Message -
From: "Doug" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: Business plan competition


> I have neither the business nor the scientific acumen to criticize your
> plan, but I think it's a very exciting idea.  I have always assumed that
> space exploration will never really take off until there is enough
> economic incentive to help defray the costs.  This is the kind of thing
> that can get us going (and get that damned Pournelle quote out of Ronn's
> sig 8^) ).
>

Yeah!
That Ronn is always bringing us down!


xponent
I Agree With The Sig Though Maru
rob


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Re: Business plan competition

[Robert Seeberger]

- Original Message -
From: "Richard Baker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 8:57 AM
Subject: Business plan competition


> Apologies to people who've already seen this over in the other place,
> but I wanted some more opinions from people I respect.
>
> The Cambridge University Entrepreneurs, a student society, has a
> business plan competition in which you can win prizes of UKP30,000 or
> UKP10,000. I already have a business about to start operations and my
> product-based company ideas aren't at the business plan stage, but I've
> had another idea stuck in my head for a few years now: mining near-Earth
> comets and asteroids. I'm pretty sure I can write a detailed and
> convincing business plan that will bootstrap us in a couple of decades
> from a few hundred million dollars of investment right through to solar
> power satellites and giant space colonies. I can convincingly explain
> why none of this has happened yet and why the inelasticity of the
> launcher market makes it unlikely to happen in the near future, but also
> that I have insights that can make it happen. I can offer a return on
> investment in twenty years or so of at least several trillion dollars.
> The plan has a number of fallback positions and alternative options that
> make it very robust, and it requires the development of only modest
> amounts of new technology (no next-gen launch vehicles or anything like
> that).

I'd love to see it happen. I believe all the money is "out there".


>
> Also, I like the idea of standing up in front of the presentations
> dinner and starting a presentation with "Who'd like to be a
> billionaire? Okay, now who'd like to be a *trillionaire*? Who'd like to
> invest in a company which will become the most successful and powerful
> organisation in human history? I can offer you all this, and more..."
> and then follow up with detailed technical, financial and economic
> models showing that I can in fact offer all of that.

Raises hand.
Counts pocket change.

[snip the obvious stuff]


> Now we're in the freight business! We can move people's satellites
> around for them and even refuel them. We can bring stuff back from
> geosynchronous orbit to be returned to Earth in the Shuttle. All
> essentially for free, compared with the current way of doing it.

Up to this point I'm pretty much with you.

>
> Next, we design and build a platinum mine and use one of our transfer
> vehicles to blast it off to a near-Earth asteroid. We also send a block
> of ice there (or maybe we can extract water from the asteroid itself)
> and an electrolysis factory. Now we mine deposits of platinum (or
> iridium, or other stuff) from the surface of the asteroid and ship them
> back to Earth orbit. The average near-Earth asteroid has around five to
> ten trillion dollars of platinum group metals in it. If we mine the
> surface few metres we ought to get a few tens of billions of dollars
> worth. Note that we can also move the mining station from asteroid to
> asteroid to re-use it. (We'll leave the electrolysis station there
> though because it'll come in useful.) Essentially for the cost of an
> electrolysis station we can mine all the surface deposits of the
> asteroid.
>
> Then we sit here manipulating the market for platinum group metals and
> making ourselves perhaps a hundred billion dollars a year. (Detailed
> calculations to follow.)

Have you calculated in the instant devaluation of the metals market that
would occur with the appearance of such vast quantities of materials in what
I assume to be a refined state?

I would think that you would have to prohibit most of the materials being
transferred to earth in order to keep the value high.
Also that you would have to use most of that material in orbit as part of
some manufacturing process that allows you to send finished goods only down
to the surface or at least set into orbit as parts of systems that benefit
surface dwellers. You might make as much or more from services early in your
program.

If large amounts of readily useable metals suddenly appear in orbit. it will
cause serious displacement in ground based markets. Mines will shut down,
there will be considerable unemployment in the mining sector, and that might
cause considerable opposition to your plans groundside even before you get
started.


>
> With some of this money, we develop a second type of mining station,
> which extracts silica, processes it into amorphous silicon and makes
> solar cells from that. We can use these solar cells to power the various
> mining and electrolysis stations, but we can also use them to build
> solar power satellites in Earth orbit. Probably we'll have to ship some
> people out to geosynchronous orbit to oversee construction, but we can
> afford that by now.

Start by providing power to third and developing world nations. In the
developed world you will likely have to supply only your partners at first.
Rich Baker might poss

Re: Business plan competition

[Doug]

Richard Baker wrote:



---




 r
At the moment, the key element is a solar electolysis factory. We put
one of those in Earth orbit first. Then we launch blocks of ice to it
from the Earth. Ice is good because it's high density and non-cryogenic.
Both of these mean there's less mass overhead than with cryogenic fuels.
So we can instantly start offering cryogenic fuels in Earth orbit at a
cheaper rate than anyone else can. So we use that to fuel transfer
vehicles to launch commsats to geosynchronous orbit. This lets commsat
companies save a substantial amount on the cost of their launches.


Or to rescue satellites whose launch vehicle failed to get them where 
they needed to be 
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/proton_launch_021125.html or to 
repair malfunctioning satellites or to salvage hi tec space garbage.






I have neither the business nor the scientific acumen to criticize your 
plan, but I think it's a very exciting idea.  I have always assumed that 
space exploration will never really take off until there is enough 
economic incentive to help defray the costs.  This is the kind of thing 
that can get us going (and get that damned Pournelle quote out of Ronn's 
sig 8^) ).

Doug


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Re: Scouted: Googlism

[Robert Seeberger]

- Original Message -
From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2002 5:54 AM
Subject: Re: Scouted: Googlism


> At 10:02 28-11-2002 +1000, Russell Chapman wrote:
>
> >J. van Baardwijk wrote:
> >
> >>jeroen died of viral myocarditis
> >>jeroen unfortunately died on January 22, 1999
> >>jeroen has been cured
> >
> >
> >Medicine is pretty advanced in the Netherlands...
>
> Yep -- it brought me back from the Afterlife.
>
> Once in the Afterlife, very few are allowed to go back -- it is only
> allowed roughly once every 2,000 years. This of course proves that I must
> be a god-creature.
>
> So, all of you, get down on your knees and worship me!   :-)
>
>

First we must kill you in a manner most symbolic.

Then we worship!

xponent
Its The Rule Maru
rob


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Business plan competition

[Richard Baker]

Apologies to people who've already seen this over in the other place,
but I wanted some more opinions from people I respect.

The Cambridge University Entrepreneurs, a student society, has a
business plan competition in which you can win prizes of UKP30,000 or
UKP10,000. I already have a business about to start operations and my
product-based company ideas aren't at the business plan stage, but I've
had another idea stuck in my head for a few years now: mining near-Earth
comets and asteroids. I'm pretty sure I can write a detailed and
convincing business plan that will bootstrap us in a couple of decades
from a few hundred million dollars of investment right through to solar
power satellites and giant space colonies. I can convincingly explain
why none of this has happened yet and why the inelasticity of the
launcher market makes it unlikely to happen in the near future, but also
that I have insights that can make it happen. I can offer a return on
investment in twenty years or so of at least several trillion dollars.
The plan has a number of fallback positions and alternative options that
make it very robust, and it requires the development of only modest
amounts of new technology (no next-gen launch vehicles or anything like
that).

Also, I like the idea of standing up in front of the presentations
dinner and starting a presentation with "Who'd like to be a
billionaire? Okay, now who'd like to be a *trillionaire*? Who'd like to
invest in a company which will become the most successful and powerful
organisation in human history? I can offer you all this, and more..."
and then follow up with detailed technical, financial and economic
models showing that I can in fact offer all of that.

On the other hand, it's going to be a lot of work and will draw
attention away from my more near-term activities; it might embarrass
the society if they have to give me a prize; and it might get me a
reputation as a lunatic amongst the business angel and venture capital
community. So, should I do it? Am I living in a Baxter novel?

Oh, and here's a rough outline of the scheme (it's cobbled together out
of an IRC conversation so it's not at all polished):

---

At the moment, the key element is a solar electolysis factory. We put
one of those in Earth orbit first. Then we launch blocks of ice to it
from the Earth. Ice is good because it's high density and non-cryogenic.
Both of these mean there's less mass overhead than with cryogenic fuels.
So we can instantly start offering cryogenic fuels in Earth orbit at a
cheaper rate than anyone else can. So we use that to fuel transfer
vehicles to launch commsats to geosynchronous orbit. This lets commsat
companies save a substantial amount on the cost of their launches.

Next we launch a second electrolysis factory with an ice-digger and
attach it to a transfer vehicle in orbit and shoot it off to land on a
near-Earth comet. The factory lands, digs out a big block of ice,
attaches it to the transfer vehicle, electrolyses some cryogen fuel and
shoots the block of ice back to Earth orbit where it docks with the
first electrolysis factory. (The advantage of this is that we don't
suffer boil-off on the fuel we transfer and have no mass overhead for
the tankage.) Then we launch a few empty transfer vehicles from Earth
and fuel them at our Earth-orbit station. Now we can offer fully fueled
transfer vehicles in Earth orbit (at the Station?) for a tiny fraction
of what they cost to launch from Earth. Possibly we design our own
transfer vehicle with enough excess fuel tankage to bring it back to low
orbit from geosyncronous orbit.

Now we're in the freight business! We can move people's satellites
around for them and even refuel them. We can bring stuff back from
geosynchronous orbit to be returned to Earth in the Shuttle. All
essentially for free, compared with the current way of doing it.

Next, we design and build a platinum mine and use one of our transfer
vehicles to blast it off to a near-Earth asteroid. We also send a block
of ice there (or maybe we can extract water from the asteroid itself)
and an electrolysis factory. Now we mine deposits of platinum (or
iridium, or other stuff) from the surface of the asteroid and ship them
back to Earth orbit. The average near-Earth asteroid has around five to
ten trillion dollars of platinum group metals in it. If we mine the
surface few metres we ought to get a few tens of billions of dollars
worth. Note that we can also move the mining station from asteroid to
asteroid to re-use it. (We'll leave the electrolysis station there
though because it'll come in useful.) Essentially for the cost of an
electrolysis station we can mine all the surface deposits of the
asteroid.

Then we sit here manipulating the market for platinum group metals and
making ourselves perhaps a hundred billion dollars a year. (Detailed
calculations to follow.)

With some of this money, we develop a second t

Re: king james translation is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Richard Baker]

Alberto said:

> Bible analysis [that has a beautiful Greek-sounding name, something 
> like hesegesis]

Exegesis.

Rich
GCU One Word Reply

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Re: king james translation is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Alberto Monteiro]

The Fool wrote: 
> 
>> According to Heinlein, it's mathematically possible to prove 
>> _anything_. An exageration, but in this case it's valid. 
>  
> Heinlein is wrong.  It has been mathematically proven 
> that it is impossible to prove or disprove the existence 
> of a god. 
> 
Mathematics can't deal with God. Unless you think that 
"the set of all sets" is the mathematical god? The 
"set of all sets" does not exist, but I don't think 
god would be constrained to be the "set of all sets". 
  
>>> It is possible to proove that this particular one 
>>> described by the bible does not exist. 
>> 
>> Just by adding extra-bible axioms :-) 
>>  
>> See? I am the skeptic, you are the believer. You have faith 
>> that it's possible to prove the non-existence of 
>> the bible god :-P 
>  
> You define everything In terms of the bible. 
> 
No - I am just trying to show you how hard it is to 
draw contradictions from the bible. Bible analysis 
[that has a beautiful Greek-sounding name, something 
like hesegesis] exists for a very long time, and 
nothing terrically absurd has been found. 
 
> I define things in terms of mathematical objects. 
> 
??? 
 
How can you define god in mathematical terms? 
 
Can you translate even Genesis 5 into a mathematical 
language? 
 
Alberto Monteiro 
 
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Re: [LINK] E-mail Etiquette

[Adam C. Lipscomb]

Jeroen posted:
Recommended viewing/reading:

E-mail Etiquette, presentation by Dr. Roxanne
Kent-Drury, Asst. Professor, Literature and Language,
Northern Kentucky University.

http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld001.htm (text
version)

http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/index.htm
(graphic version)

Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated"
van Baardwijk
**

I thought slides 4 & 5 were especially informative and
useful, didn't you?

E-mail is toneless compared with face-to-face
communications 
Be forgiving of others’ errors 
Remember human beings are at the other end 
Don’t forward mail without the originator’s permission

Cool off overnight before sending an angry message

E-mail is a legal document 
E-mail is more public than a phone call or surface
mail 
E-mail remains on the system for a long time (through
backup tapes) 
E-mail can be subpoenaed

Thanks for posting this!  Very useful information.  It
should be very helpful for myself and others on the
list!

Adam C. "Moderation has a place, on occasion" Lipscomb
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Some day, I'm going to drop a bomb on this city.  A
contraceptive bomb." - Spider Jerusalem, "Lust for Life"

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googlism is evil, why it must be eradicated

[Alberto Monteiro]

alberto monteiro is one of the top brazilian players 
and this year decided to give it a go at playing in england  
 
Wish it were true... I would get a hundred thousand 
more money than I get now... 
 
Alberto Monteiro 
 
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Re: Scouted: Women prefer HDTV to Diamonds???

[Julia Thompson]

"Ronn! Blankenship" wrote:

> ¹Which should have been a clue—to Julia at least (I recognize that Sonja
> might not be as familiar with the value of US currency)—that this was NOT a
> regular 45-piece set of power tools . . .

I got it.  I didn't want to ruin it for anyone else who hadn't.

Julia

last post for the next 8 hours at least
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Re: Scouted: Googlism

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 10:02 28-11-2002 +1000, Russell Chapman wrote:


J. van Baardwijk wrote:


jeroen died of viral myocarditis
jeroen unfortunately died on January 22, 1999
jeroen has been cured



Medicine is pretty advanced in the Netherlands...


Yep -- it brought me back from the Afterlife.

Once in the Afterlife, very few are allowed to go back -- it is only 
allowed roughly once every 2,000 years. This of course proves that I must 
be a god-creature.

So, all of you, get down on your knees and worship me!   :-)


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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[LINK] E-mail Etiquette

[J. van Baardwijk]

Recommended viewing/reading:

E-mail Etiquette, presentation by Dr. Roxanne Kent-Drury, Asst. Professor, 
Literature and Language, Northern Kentucky University.

http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/tsld001.htm (text version)

http://www.nku.edu/~rkdrury/emailppt/index.htm (graphic version)


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk



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Re: Computer Problems

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 02:36 29-11-2002 -0500, William Taylor wrote:


Many pop-ups freeze the screen and I have to kill AOL. Brin-L.com being
the wurst.


Wrong on two counts. First, www.brin-l.com is down so it can by definition 
not have anything to do with your screen freezing. Second, there never were 
any pop-ups at www.brin-l.com (unless Yahoo!GeoCities put them there; but I 
certainly never did).


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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Re: Productivity/Creativity

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 19:06 28-11-2002 -0500, Dee Daley wrote:


Jeroen wrote-
Following that reasoning, the job could be done in only six months by
working 24 hours per day. Unfortunately, it is more complicated than that.
Things like the need for rest, recreation and social activities tend to get
in the way.

Dee-
This reminds me of the "global" company approach that was touted years
ago.  I don't hear much about it now, but it involved 2-3 sets of individuals
around the world on a single team.  A project could be started by one
person in the morning and handed off to someone in another time zone,
to allow for a kind of continuous problem solving/programming.


That works for things like programming and support, but it has one major 
flaw when applied to projects as a whole: it is impossible to hold the 
(time-consuming but necessary) meetings (even when using methods like chat 
or video conferencing), because there will also be members of the project 
group for whom the scheduled time will be in the wee hours of the night -- 
during which they will probably be asleep.


Jeroen "Moderation is evil, why it must be eradicated" van Baardwijk

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Re: Lies Aren't Evil Re: Religion is evil (proof)

[The Fool]

> From: Ronn! Blankenship <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

> At 06:29 PM 11/27/02 -0600, The Fool wrote:
> > > From: J. van Baardwijk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >
> > > At 11:58 27-11-2002 -0600, Reggie Bautista wrote:
> > >
> > > >The only people for whom the Bible is a lie are the people who
insist
> >that
> > > >it is literal truth, and those fundamentalists are obviously
misled
> > > >anyway, because the Bible can't *possibly* all be literal truth,
as
> > > >evidenced by the contradictions I mentioned above.
> > >
> > > You only mentioned the *existence* of contradictions, you did not
give
> >any
> > > *examples* of contradictions in the bible. Someone who has never
read
> >the
> > > bible might not be familiar with any contradictions in it, so you
> >should
> > > provide one or two examples.
> >
> >Aaron dies twice: once at mount sinai,

> I don't recall this.  Can you give the reference (chapter & verse)?

> >once again forty years later before entering the promised land.

> As told in chapters 20 and 33 of Numbers.

Deuteronomy 10:6
6 "And the sons of Israel pulled away from Be·er'oth Ben'e-ja'a·kan for
Mo·se'rah. There Aaron died, and he got to be buried there; and
El·e·a'zar his son began to act as priest instead of him.

Numbers 20:27-29
27 So Moses did just as Jehovah had commanded; and before the eyes of all
the assembly they went climbing Mount Hor. 28 Then Moses stripped Aaron
of his garments and clothed El·e·a'zar his son with them, after which
Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and El·e·a'zar
came on down from the mountain. 29 And all the assembly got to see that
Aaron had expired, and all the house of Israel continued weeping for
Aaron thirty days.

Numbers 33:37-39
37 Later they pulled away from Ka'desh and went camping in Mount Hor, on
the frontier of the land of E'dom. 38 And Aaron the priest proceeded to
go up into Mount Hor at the order of Jehovah and to die there in the
fortieth year of the going out of the sons of Israel from the land of
Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first of the month. 39 And Aaron was a
hundred and twenty-three years old at his death on Mount Hor.

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