[ExI] it was the best times, it was the best of times

[Kelly Anderson]

On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 3:24 PM, Eugen Leitl <eugen at leitl.org> wrote:

> On Mon, Oct 07, 2013 at 11:29:36AM -0600, Kelly Anderson wrote:
>
> > Even the government isn't wasteful enough to collect data on something
> this
>
> Your dogma is showing. This is going to make you miss some solutions.
>

I don't mind my dogma. If the solutions your referring to involve BIG
religion, BIG government, BIG science, BIG corporations or other things
involving too damn many people, then I'm happy to opt out of those
solutions. They usually don't work so well anyway and they are almost
universally annoying.


> > useless. If there is less waste, then that is a GOOD THING. Conservation
> is
>
> Less waste is a good thing, but I'm using it instrumentally here, as a
> metric.
>

As usual, you want to use metrics of things that cannot be measured. It is
very convenient to do that, since you can use such metrics to make any
argument you wish to. However, you do this at the cost of your arguments
being weighted lower than they would if you provided actual data. (Actual
data meaning anything that didn't originate on theoildrum as a first order
approximation).


> > always the lowest hanging fruit. I didn't even laugh so much when Obama
> > said "Inflate your tires" though he got dumped on for saying so. Dumpster
> > diving may be a way of life for a fringe, but that's not what I'm talking
> > about when I talk about stuff being free in great amounts these days.
>
> I realize what you're talking about. I'm talking about something else.
>

I understand. I reserve the right to reject your reality and substitute my
own.


> > But even products can be free to the users. For example, Google paid for
> > hard drives that store my email. Yes, they made up for it with
> advertising,
>
> Google is not selling cloud services. Google is selling their users.
> You're not the customer, you're the product.
>

You may have a point there.


> > which I read. But the hard drive space is "free" to me in terms of actual
> > cash. I do pay for it with a minimal amount of time.
>
> You're having only a tiny idea of what you're paying for it.
>

Other than advertising, I know of no really big revenue stream for Google.
Would you please enlighten me? My privacy?? Don't know how they monetize
that yet.


> > Should be enough time to develop space based copper mining... don't you
> > think?
>
> What, about 30 years? No way in hell. Go talk to rocket people to
> realize how much you don't know.
>

There are rocket people here. They seem to be relatively optimistic... but
perhaps I overstate it. I'll let them speak for themselves.


> > But some monkeys are more clever than others. Fortunately, we still have
>
> Their cleverness does not translate into moving all the other monkeys
> from their furry butts.
>

Sadly no, since we have so many clever monkeys who are busy caring for the
monkeys that won't get off their furry butts.


> > money enough that some of the clever monkeys can amass the fortunes
> > necessary to do this (Elan Musk, Paul Alan anyone?) despite the
> government
>
> I'm happy that these guys exist. I'm unhappy that the bulk of capital
> amassment is unproductive. I'm unhappy that much of wealth-building lies
> in our past.
>

Ooooh. I'm so scared. Wealth building in our past? Are you mad?

I've known many rich people myself. None of them are sitting on their ass
or their money the way you seem to think they do. All of them are busy
investing or building something. Maybe there is something different about
rich people in Utah than in other places, but I rather doubt it. Would you
like to pull a number out of your butt to back up your view of capital
amassment?

Even rich people who do sit on their asses have money men who invest for
them. They don't buy millions of dollars worth of savings bonds for heck
sake. It is ridiculous to say that rich folk's money doesn't do anything.
Numbers please.


> > attempting to take most of it away to keep the non-functional monkeys
> > breathing and voting for the socialist agenda.
> >
> > If we take all of Musk's money away from him and those like him, then
> > perhaps we will not be mining asteroids in the end and we can all eat
> > terrestrial rocks with Eugen.
>
> I'm getting tired of arguing with a caricature. Please try to be more
> amusing in future.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzHjIj3fpR8&list=PL6F85DE52B8FD688D&index=9

-Kelly
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