Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

I tried to get into a couple of Hamilton books but they never clicked for me. The ones I tried seemed to have a weird mix of space opera (which I like) and the occult (not so much).

Though, having just written that, I really do like Allistor Reynolds' books which are just that same kind of mix. go figure.
>> ^NetRunner:

I'm between books right now. My last was Peter F. Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void which is the third book in a trilogy, set in the same universe as Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun -- space opera stuff, will make a good movie someday.
Next in the queue will be Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Or possibly John Rawls's A Theory of Justice. Or maybe Vernor Vinge's Children of the Sky. They're all sitting on the table nearby, reminding me that I've been neglecting my dead tree media again...

I'm between books right now. My last was Peter F. Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void which is the third book in a trilogy, set in the same universe as Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun -- space opera stuff, will make a good movie someday.

Next in the queue will be Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Or possibly John Rawls's A Theory of Justice. Or maybe Vernor Vinge's Children of the Sky. They're all sitting on the table nearby, reminding me that I've been neglecting my dead tree media again...

>> ^heropsycho:

For the record, I'm not a strict constructionist. However, I do recognize the danger of looser interpretations, even though I'm politically moderate person. I don't have a good answer for example about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because that law was sorely needed, but it sure does open Pandora's box about what the gov't can and can't regulate.

I didn't think you were, I was just pointing out that the Ron Paulite theory of Constitutional interpretation reads Article I Section 8 as ruling out the possibility of the federal government doing anything, and makes the argument that even the first Congress violated the Constitution on a regular basis.

Personally I don't see "government" as having any real constraints on its power as-is. The Constitution allows for 1st amendment rights, but saying fuck on TV will get you fined, while bribing public officials is a protected exercise of free expression.

The problem here isn't government as a concept, the problem is that people have stopped demanding better from their government. As a result, they never get a better government.

It's not an iron law of politics, it's just a self-fulfilling prophecy stuck in a feedback loop of masochism.

For the record, I'm not a strict constructionist. However, I do recognize the danger of looser interpretations, even though I'm politically moderate person. I don't have a good answer for example about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because that law was sorely needed, but it sure does open Pandora's box about what the gov't can and can't regulate. Regulation of interstate commerce allowed for things like environmental regulation, the formation of the EPA, etc. But it sure can cause the gov't to regulate things it shouldn't, too.

The formation of an Air Force though is an easier argument constitutionally, and it's a useful thing to review because it illustrates the thought process of the Supreme Court. When something isn't outright said in Article I, Section 8, those powers in combination with interpretting other sections such as the Preamble ("provide for the common defense..."), or sometimes other documents the forefathers wrote such as the Federalist Papers, the Declaration of Independence, etc., provide ideas about their intent. It's clearly implied that since they could form an Army and Navy for defense, once flight was possible, it's implied we need an Air Force.

As to the things below you're saying should be put to a vote, they are, but not directly by the people. That's how the Amendment process works. Should it be a direct vote by the people? In my opinion, that would be a horrible idea. The people simply for the most part do not understand the ramifications of amending the Constitution.

>> ^NetRunner:

@heropsycho ahh, but you do need to be careful with the whole "enumerated powers" malarkey. After all, there's nothing in Article I, Section 8 about Congress being able to create an Air Force -- just an Army and a Navy. The Air Force is unconstitutional.
Also too, it doesn't say the government is allowed to build roads, just "Post roads" for the post office's use! Don't even get us started on things like power lines or telephone cable.
According to the likes of Ron Paul, the Constitution isn't open to even a little bit of reinterpretation, but instead that it's a straightjacket that should constrain the Federal government from doing anything that isn't explicitly listed in Section 8.
Hell, he's even implied that since the Constitution uses the verb "coin" to describe Congress's authority to create money, that paper currency (backed by gold or otherwise) is also unconstitutional.
IMO, I'd be fine with that interpretation, as long as people stopped pretending that the constitution was some holy scripture filled with infinite wisdom passed down to us by messiahs. We should be rewriting and re-ratifying the Constitution to fit with our modern ideals of how things should function.
For example, there should be something in the constitution about the nexus of money and politics, but there isn't.
There should be something more about the legal definition of "people" -- do fetuses or corporations count?
There should be something in there about the Air Force, and the Marines too, for good measure.
Do we have a right to privacy, or don't we?
Right now we mostly let the Supreme Court decide these things by letting them "interpret" a 200 year-old document based on their supposed ability to divine the mental state of the long-dead authors of the sections they feel are relevant.
Why shouldn't those questions be put to a vote?

If you guys enjoy Chris Thile (the mandolin player for Nickel Creek), I'd highly recommend his new group, Punch Brothers. Very different from NC, but UNBELIEVABLE. Worth a listen.

The Punch Brothers Pandora station is awesome too.

>> ^marinara:

they don't have to censor millions of pages. they just have to censor google search results


I'm sure that if the MPAA / RIAA types had free rein (even more than now, I mean) they would do exactly that. But what would actually result if that were actually to happen? OK, Google might wither and die, or at least the search portion of Google.

And then? In no time at all, the next Google would appear. PirateBay, isoHunt, RapidShare, whatever. Stop one, everybody moves to the next. Eliminating any or all of those would have exactly the same long-term reduction in piracy as Napster's demise did -- which is to say, no effect at all. Bit-by-bit policing/censoring the internet is just literally impossible.

I think that content creators need to wrap around the fact that the internet has fundamentally changed how people think about concepts like intellectual property, copyright, etc. Cat's out of the bag, the milk has been spilled, Pandora's box is open. Whoever comes up with the best business method that simply accepts that as unavoidable fact, good bad or indifferent, can make real steps towards finding the way forward.

>> ^brycewi19:

>> ^ant:
Is this video working at all?

Yup, it loads up just fine for me.


Now, it works. I guess there was a technical problem over there.

>> ^ant:

Is this video working at all?


Yup, it loads up just fine for me.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Avatar, James Cameron, rainforest' to 'Avatar, James Cameron, rainforest, Amazon Watch, Pandora, Brazil, Sustainability' - edited by Trancecoach

Yeah, Spotify is still out of scope for Aussies: http://itechreport.com.au/2011/07/07/spotify-reveals-us-launch-but-australia-still-not-on-the-cards/

But perhaps I can get it anyway: http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/05/how-to-use-spotify-outside-of-europe-with-a-vpn-service/

Pandora seems to be the same. Not sure about last.fm

Pandora was great before fascism blocked it in the UK, a lot of people need to die for that crime. Last.fm's a mediocre substitute but occasionally it spits out something amazing. Damn difficult to tell if a band's worth your time from one listen though, the good stuff's deeper than that.

My music collection's pretty much finished - once I found Manilla Road all my needs were satisfied. The last time I wanted to expand I went to a decent review site, picked a letter at random and bought a bunch of 10/10 albums. Yeah, imagine paying for media, that must have been a long time ago.

I've had a go at spotify and pandora along the journey, but from memory have suffered from being in Australia and facing some limitations on access.

Perhaps I need to invest in one of those things that allows me to present an American IP or something.

Otherwise, thanks for the tips. I will follow them up.

That's what I'm talking about. Thanks for the links!

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Pandora is okay for more popular songs. For instance, I have a Ween channel that plays a lot of stuff I really like. But there's not much new there to discover.

I use Spotify to see what my friends are listening to. Usually we'll have similar musical interests.

I've recently discovered these from reddit:
http://stereomood.com/
http://grooveshark.com/

Pandora is okay for more popular songs. For instance, I have a Ween channel that plays a lot of stuff I really like. But there's not much new there to discover.

I use Spotify to see what my friends are listening to. Usually we'll have similar musical interests.

I've recently discovered these from reddit:
http://stereomood.com/
http://grooveshark.com/

I like pandora.com if im bored with my current selection. I skip around until I find something I like then listen to their songs on Youtube to see if an album stands out. It's served me well so far :-D

If my instincts are right and you're a little bored with your own selection now, might I recommend Starfucker (it's not what it sounds like it will be).



Edit: "Pop song" is another good one off the same album