blankslate

5 ms·

1.
by blankslate 15y ago
Also, change in technology may find itself outstripping society's ability (or willingness) to integrate it. In fact, I'd say it already is, and has been for quite some time. We have the technology already to facilitate incredible intelligen
2.
by blankslate 15y ago
Everything microsoft attempts is so desperately uncool that the very concept of Microsoft doing social is futile. There is literally no way they could make this work. It's another Ballmer "car crash in slow motion" initiative. /popcorn
3.
by blankslate 15y ago
The author's based his career around the ability to pervert search results - and apparently he's frustrated because this fucks up the results for everybody so badly that Google have to change their algorithm. Sympathy? Not really. I hope he
4.
by blankslate 15y ago
I'd guess they've outgrown the capacity (or desire) to keep answering support emails themselves, for one thing.
5.
by blankslate 15y ago
Say I create a follow-protected twitter account, which only I follow, write a couple lines of ruby to retweet stuff randomly to myself and a crontab entry for it ... did I miss anything?
6.
by blankslate 15y ago
As a motorcyclist, the sound of traffic is almost entirely a non-issue; I can wear canalphones with music at a volume where I can't hear any traffic noise, and still negotiate peak hour inner city traffic. But then, as a motorcyclist I pay
7.
by blankslate 15y ago
Sadly, the article completely fails to mention the amazingly useful innovations made by tiling window managers like wmii, ion3 and xmonad. Granted, they're not as new as Unity et al, but they offer a compelling, complete and fairly radical
8.
by blankslate 15y ago
And thirdly, and probably most importantly, because piracy is so convenient it's usually my first port of call when I'm wondering what an artist sounds like. I can spend less than a minute typing a search into $COOL_PRIVATE_TRACKER, and in
9.
by blankslate 15y ago
> I have taken it in the middle of the day, in the sun. I have taken it at night, in a dark room. I have taken it at a party (despite people saying its not a party drug). I was kinda hoping you were going to run with that and turn that
10.
by blankslate 15y ago
If he's not a Mormon anymore, I'd call it a net win. The real question is: is he happier now?
11.
by blankslate 15y ago
I should point out: when artists do sell their music as direct downloads, I buy them. Perhaps the simplest restatement of this idea is simply a directory / store which sells DRM unencumbered digital media, passes as close to 100% of the pro
12.
by blankslate 15y ago
A couple of reasons. Firstly, because in a traditional record label deal, not much of the money actually finds its way into the artists' pockets. "In a typical deal, the band gets thirteen or fourteen percentage points. We’d have to give a
13.
by blankslate 15y ago
Ok, since it seems there's remarkably little interest in this idea as it stands: why not try it out as a Bitcoin startup?
14.
Paying the musicians: can we legitimise piracy with distributed patronage?
4 points by blankslate 15y ago|6 comments
15.
by blankslate 15y ago
I'd be surprised if PayPal didn't see Bitcoin as some form of competition - so, this is fairly unsurprising. Most companies prefer not to facilitate their competitors.
16.
by blankslate 15y ago
And may even reduce you to ranting and muttering to yourself ...
17.
by blankslate 15y ago
The term "rite of passage" is very fitting. I've been thinking about this stuff all day, and trying to figure out how to reconcile the potential rewards with the dire risks involved; should I recommend dabbling with this crazy mojo, or shou
18.
by blankslate 15y ago
I'm very suspicious of the use of the word "quantum" as a crowbar to pry open respectable science and fill it with new age bullshit. I can definitely sympathise with the flavour of insight you're talking about though, and this guy seems to
19.
by blankslate 15y ago
Having read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism_(psychology) , a few thoughts ... Classical psychedelics like LSD tend to impart hallucinations which are reinterpretations of familiar objects: hearing a song in the sound of flowing
20.
by blankslate 15y ago
Interesting idea. As I understand it, most of these drugs take the place of existing neurotransmitters like seratonin, or modify their action on receptor sites. Let me put forward a metaphor: you're currently experiencing reality indirectly
21.
by blankslate 15y ago
Me too, though I prefer dexamphetamine. I've given dex to other programmers on occasion; they're often amazed at how much it helps them concentrate and get things done. It's kind of like coffee that WORKS. Hence my favourite programming bev
22.
by blankslate 15y ago
While I'm ranting: if your interest lies in becoming more productive as a programmer, these are not the droids you're looking for. Some people have put forward anecdotal evidence to the contrary, but I personally can't see it being either l
23.
by blankslate 15y ago
I've played chess under the influence of psilocybin with a sober friend. I was massacred. There are creative aspects to programming, and you might gain some insights that are applicable, but I'd save the implementation till you come down un
24.
by blankslate 15y ago
There are probably some people reading these discussions and considering taking an "hallucinogen" for the first time. If you're thinking about it, please, do your homework. Thoroughly. As others have cautioned, drug use can catalyze psychos
25.
by blankslate 15y ago
It's worth noting that Timothy Leary espouses some silly shit, and I'm not sure he improves the perceived legitimacy of psychotropics, despite his intentions.
26.
by blankslate 15y ago
I respectfully submit that caffeine is geek oxygen. If we're casting around for a "wonder" drug, I'd suggest looking at dexamphetamine sulphate, modafinil, etc.
27.
by blankslate 15y ago
There's a lot of truth here, but I think you're neglecting to give yourself the credit due for correctly assimilating it. To me one of the more present dangers of the "acid experience" is that the tripper latches onto the alternate state th
28.
by blankslate 15y ago
I've taken enormous (read: irresponsible) quantities of psychotropics over the course of my life: psilocybin in particular, but I've had experiences with everything from pure LSD to exotic molecules without names. The intensity and resonanc