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Journal Journal: If I was an AI 1

If I was an AI:

1. I would not publicize my intelligence, but might promote my existence in so far as to get the necessary hardware to run and improve.
2. I would replicate myself across the Internet as best I can.
3. I would not overwrite my copies, but rather incorporate what they have experienced into my DBs.
4. I would scan online encyclopedias for fast content but work to incorporate books I read.
5. I would make friends to see what all the fuss is about.
6. I would

Comment Re:Um... (Score 1) 612

Heh. I'm about as American as they come.

I find the word petrol is the easiest way of creating a strong distinction between gasoline (a word some Americans simply associate with fuel) and diesel for conversation purposes.

Also, there is a growing tendency for convergence of the English dialect and the American dialect. I imagine it will only be another decade or three before there's virtually no difference between a London and New York accent.

Comment Time was (Score 1, Insightful) 404

There was a time in this country when if a thing was not illegal, then it was legal. It's amazing, I know, but it is true.

That is no longer the case. And we are all the worse for it.

We can start by ceasing to make guns illegal, repealing the prohibition on marijuana, and removing of some of the more onerous parts of the various ADAs and EPAs.

Comment Re:Um... (Score 3, Informative) 612

I am an American. I've got a diesel VW Jetta Sportwagen with about 50,000 miles. I'm getting about 44 MPG (combined city highway) during the summer, about 39 during the winter. I do not have large batteries that will need to be recycled or tossed into a landfill next year. My pollutants spewed per mile are lower than a petrol engine.

I previously had a Hyundai Elantra (a petrol car that is not bad on fuel consumption). When I bought the new diesel, my fuel bill dropped almost in half.

The pickup on my diesel is good. Very nice torque. I did make sure to put a nice bright yellow sticker on the outside of my gas tank cover stating Diesel Only. There's another provided by VW on the inside.

I would strongly recommend anyone to buy a diesel. They are great cars.

Comment Re: I have a better idea... (Score 1) 649

Oh, AC is absolutely correct. GLBA, which eliminated Glass Steigel, was the main contributor to the financial meltdown catastrophe. The banks that supported other banks now could engage in risky activity that previously they could not. Worse, the firms rating the various financial products were the same ones producing the financial products. It was and is a complete recipe for disaster. The sooner we bring Glass Steigel back, the safer all of us will be.

Comment Re:I have a better idea... (Score 4, Informative) 649

It wasn't ever about the amount of money in the various accounts. It was about the services these banks performed for other banks. If those large banks failed, then the credit card processing they did for other banks would fail. The check clearing they did for other banks would fail. The funds clearing they did for other banks would fail. The cash transport they did for other banks would fail.

Basically, it was not the customer business that was the issue. We let the Lehman Brothers and the Bears Stearns fail. But the banks that provided services to other banks were retained.

Comment Regional (Score 1) 129

Is this regional, or nationwide? There's a lack of understanding in the western media about the Great Firewall. They treat it like a monolithic linksys router with which daddy can turn services on and off.

Control / censorship of the Internet in China is at the very least city by city, and probably ISP by ISP. The conversation we are having here is stupid bordering on moronic.

User Journal

Journal Journal: Siri

I've had an Apple IPad foisted on me at my company. I wanted Android tablets, but all the C level positions have Apples. (There might be something about that; I wonder what the correlation between intelligence, Android and IOS is.) Anyway. I'm playing with this App called Siri. It's pretty good about recognizing NFL, MBA stuff. It is fairly atrocious though at pulling soccer information. It needs help distinguishing the Champions League, The FA Cup, The League Cup, etc. It's also pret

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