Re: I need another word for "various"

1

Am I a bad person for finding the MtGox thing funny?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 7:24 AM
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Oh god it's so funny. I'm so proud of whoever it was that stole four hundred million dollars without breaking any laws anybody cares about.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 7:25 AM
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The best part was when I learned by "MtG" was abbreviated from "Magic the Gathering." It's like somebody tried to combine everything that annoys me (libertarians, trading card games, techno-optimism) into one big bundle and dropped it into a river.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 7:30 AM
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The other things that annoy me are such a broadly distributed part of human nature that I assume they are present in anything.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 7:31 AM
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William Gibson has apparently referred to bitcoins as "Dunning-Krugerrands". Nicely done.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 7:43 AM
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I like Josh Marshall's quote: "Virtual currencies like Bitcoin seems to create huge efficiencies for losing all your money."


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 7:48 AM
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Matters Divers & Sundry


Posted by: fake accent | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 7:48 AM
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If you're talking about a live version of Miley Cyrus singing Hey Ya, it's easily available through googling "Miley Cyrus Hey Ya". And yes, it's a good cover. Hey Ya has got to be one of the 10 best songs ever written. So catchy, but the lyrics are so dark.


Posted by: dz | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:00 AM
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5: Like you, I failed to RTFA and was called out on it.

But it's still pretty great and bears repeating.


Posted by: | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:01 AM
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5: I'd suggest hopeful, wet-eared developers of disruptive [rolls eyes] technologies first run them past William Gibson to learn whether he can demolish their pretensions in ten words or less.


Posted by: Flippanter | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:04 AM
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Re MtGox, it seems like its collapse is more due to its founder being clueless than to any larger flaw in Bitcoin itself.


Posted by: dz | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:04 AM
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5: As discussed recently at the other place, that construction appears to have first been used online by someone at Fark. But it may well become Gibson's rather than per the way these things work.

My comment on it last April:

I most certainly do not want to talk about the Bitcoin Brouhaha, but let me be the first* to say "Dunning-Kruggerands."

*Actually, I believe the first documented appearance was in this Fark comment thread from December.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:05 AM
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12: oops, 9 explained that.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:06 AM
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8 makes me realize I have no idea what the lyrics are aside from "hey ya" and "shake it like a polaroid picture".


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:07 AM
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A bit of contrarian data for those indulging in Bitcoin schadenfreude.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:07 AM
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Not sure if Dunning-Krugerrands is original to Gibson; my best recollection is it was some commenter on Charles Stross's blog.


Posted by: Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:07 AM
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Ah, JP Stormcrow has a more specific recollection. Also, hey! Ogged is back!


Posted by: Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:08 AM
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The proper lesson, if I may suggest, is this: We are building a new financial order, and those of us building it, investing in it, and growing it, will pay the price of bringing it to the world. This is the harsh truth. We are building the channels, the bridges, and the towers of tomorrow's finance, and we put ourselves at risk in doing so.

We are at risk from accidents. We are at risk from fraud, from corruption, and from evil. We are at risk from journalists seeking headlines and from politicians seeking power and glory. We are at risk from the very market we are trying to build - a market which cares not about our portfolio, our ambitions, or our delicate sympathies.

For all these risks, devastation will befall us repeatedly. Some of us will be discouraged. Some will be ridiculed and insulted. Some will be tricked, or swindled. Some of us will be crushed or caged. We will be set upon by all manner of antagonists, repeatedly, for a long time.

If going Galt now means idiot libertarians throwing their money at fraudsters, call me an Objectivist.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:08 AM
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8 makes me realize I have no idea what the lyrics are aside from "hey ya" and "shake it like a polaroid picture".

There's also "I wanna see y'all on your baddest behavior. Lend me some sugar! I am your neighbor!"

Does "Hey Ya" have verses? I'll have to listen again.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:10 AM
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16, 17: Our Stormcrow has been looking into this, and the use seems to pre-date Gibson and arise from Fark comments!


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:10 AM
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Speaking of "various," an attempt to enforce the analogy ban in an unexpected place (not clear whether or not the speaker is Ogged).


in an unexpected place (not clear whether or not the speaker is Ogged).



Posted by: unimaginative | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:11 AM
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(I definitely saw it more than a year ago when someone in the comments at I think Gawker linked to a Fark comment using the term.)


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:12 AM
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Allow me to highly recommend the jaw-droppingly hilarious twitter account Shit /r/Bitcoin says:

https://twitter.com/shit_rbtc_says

Oh my god, it's full of schadenfreude.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:12 AM
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18: It's an amazing world view. Somebody just a bit more self-aware might realize they were making the case that markets are necessarily dependent on non-market socio-political forces.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:16 AM
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20: Actually doing a bit of new searching, and so far the earliest found a September 2012 reference in a Civilization forum...


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:19 AM
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Oddly enough, earliest use of Dunning-Krugerrand I can find goes back to October 2012, and is in a Wikipedia RFD deleting an article on Dunning-Krugerrands:

http://www.territorioscuola.com/wikipedia/en.wikipedia.php?title=Wikipedia:Redirects_for_discussion/Log/2012_October_6


Posted by: Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:19 AM
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24: It's obvious enough that Bitcoin can't thrive without significant regulation - indeed, not without regulation that grows in scope and complexity as Bitcoin itself grows. If Bitcoin survives, could it deepen the sophistication of libertarian thinking?

No. It could not. Never mind.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:19 AM
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Damn you!


Posted by: Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:19 AM
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28 to 25.


Posted by: Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:20 AM
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30

Huh, if the Miley Cyrus cover in question is the one she did at the Staples Center, it seems boring in the main part of the song and embarrassing when she gets to the "break it down" part.


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:22 AM
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23 is chock full o' crazy. Also sexism.

Actually, the tone of a lot of it reminds me of my colleague who likes to post anti-democracy screeds on Facebook.


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:24 AM
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26: But that discussion provides the nice alternate name of Douchemark.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:25 AM
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33

I learned that mining involves verification of transactions. So what happens when the number of bitcoin reaches the planned limit? Is there no further verification?


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:26 AM
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34

Comments like 14 and 19 are why the market for Hey Ya covers is so strong! Another good cover (I think it's been linked here before).

The discussion of Bitcoin here makes me sad. Reflexive, dismissive cynicism is an unfortunate attitude.


Posted by: dz | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:27 AM
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11: Re MtGox, it seems like its collapse is more due to its founder being clueless than to any larger flaw in Bitcoin itself.

Sure, but I would argue that it exposes the structural flaw that something like Bitcoin in its current form will continually be at risk of that kind of screw-up.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:28 AM
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30: This was my thought, Ben! I think she's adorable and has a great voice, but the "Hey Ya" cover was a snooze.


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:28 AM
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37

My cynicism is indeed dismissive, but I maintain it is well thought out.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:29 AM
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38

34.1: I like that one.


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:30 AM
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39

35 is reasonable but I think the link in 11 shows that the founder is below even a basic level of security awareness to a degree which makes this situation exceptional.

37: Why are you cynical?


Posted by: dz | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:34 AM
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37.2: Because the problems of creating and maintaining a medium of exchange have a very long history and have been explored in great detail in various places that are readily available to any literate person.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:38 AM
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39: And what does it say about the unfettered marketplace that so many people used the service anyway?


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:40 AM
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42

I know one guy who likes the idea of Bitcoin because he wants to sell things without transaction costs, but aside from that, it seems to be ruled by reflexive, dismissive cynicism about the concept of "government".


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:46 AM
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43

Isn't bitcoin just a ponzi scheme / money laundering mash up with bells and whistles particularly attractive to 26 year olds who never made it intellectually past 13-15?


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:47 AM
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I think the link in 11 shows that the founder is below even a basic level of security awareness to a degree which makes this situation exceptional.

To say this about an organization that handles 70% of the trading, and to offer it as a defense of bitcoin, is either an invitation to cynicism or a slatepitch that is, alas, too late.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:48 AM
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45

And people who want to launder $ / engage in illegal transactions, obviously.


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:49 AM
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46

what does ""Dunning-Kruggerands."" mean?

All the Google hits are to people who just say how clever it is but don't explain.


Posted by: lemmy caution | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:49 AM
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46: You need to look up one or more of "the Dunning-Kruger effect" and "Krugerrands".


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:50 AM
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48

essear got there first, but I've never done aLet Me Google That For You and I wanted to try it out.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:52 AM
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I'd seen that phrase before, but my interpretation was driven by confusion between "Dunning-Kruger" and "Voight-Kampff".


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:52 AM
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50

The "See Also" section for that is pretty great.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:54 AM
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I am amused by the confidence of the btc boosters that they'll cleverly invest their little all in btc and one day will wake up as acknowledged masters of the universe. There's a strong whiff of underpants gnomes to the whole business.

So there's 70,000 of you, and 7 billion of us, and "us" includes virtually everyone who benefits from the current economic system, and you think everyone's just going to realize that money is pretend one day and sadly ditch all their greenbacks because your bitcoin is so much smarter? Not bloody likely.


Posted by: Natilo Paennim | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:57 AM
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See, I really don't love the cover in 34 at all. But Miley's voice is beautiful.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:58 AM
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She really does have a good voice. It took me a while before I realized that the song I heard and enjoyed on the radio was the Miley song where she was nekkid on the wrecking ball.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 8:59 AM
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Full disclosure: I'm told I have bad taste in music and I've never been able to refute this.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:00 AM
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The fish thing really upsets me. We're fucking up the oceans in horrible ways. Makes me want to not eat wild caught fish.


Posted by: togolosh | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:01 AM
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56

It's not just the oceans we're fucking up.


Posted by: urple | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:03 AM
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57

Also: Gallimaufry


Posted by: Natilo Paennim | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:04 AM
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58

Can someone point me to what there is to be excited about, re bitcoin, for people who aren't either paranoid or criminals? The linked inspirational exhortation at Business Insider is pure gibberish of Singularity proportions. Is it all about getting rid of transaction costs?


Posted by: cryptoc ned | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:06 AM
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Miley Cyrus doesn't have a powerful voice or much range, but when she sticks to simple stuff in her low range I do like her voice. Her Jolene duet with Dolly is fun.

I've come around a bit on the Miley knows what she's doing and isn't melting down front.


Posted by: Unfoggetarian: "Pause endlessly, then go in" (9) | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:07 AM
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Am I a bad person for finding the MtGox thing funny?

I would join you, because that was the funniest thing I've read in months. Everything I think about the article I want to run around shouting 'LEVIATHAN!'

It's funny in a deeply twisted and disturbing way that so many techo-nutbarsoptimists of a certain type reflexively fall back on Revelation when the techno-going gets rough. A cynic might think they were trying to put the Protestant fundamentalist inerrancy into economic practice.

max
['On A Pale Bitcoin.']


Posted by: max | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:07 AM
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57: Salmagundi


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:07 AM
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Urban dictionary explains it:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dunning-krugerrand


Posted by: lemmy caution | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:08 AM
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63

Of course it isn't about getting rid of transaction costs. It pretty obviously adds to transaction costs for any normal consumer use since you have first turn regular money into bitcoins.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:08 AM
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63 to 58.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:09 AM
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The fish thing really upsets me. We're fucking up the oceans in horrible ways. Makes me want to not eat wild caught fish.

I decided to eat more herring, since I like it and I think it can be eaten responsibly?

Anyway, the grocery store had two kinds of tinned herring and one kind of herring in a jar, and the tinned kinds were...tinny, and the jarred kind was disgustingly sweet. So I'm stymied.

I suppose I could order it online, but what's a trusty brand of herring?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:09 AM
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You can drain the the jarred kind and soak them in a better marinade. A sugar, vinegar, water, and dill combination is quite tasty.


Posted by: Eggplant | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:12 AM
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43 basically has it. The money laundering part is obvious. The pyramid scheme part might not be obvious. The supply of bitcoins is by design limited and the rate of growth will be cut in the future. That is, if it succeeds, the amount of deflation will be very great meaning a huge gain for early adopters.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:13 AM
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65: Seafood watch says no herring.


Posted by: urple | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:14 AM
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It does? It's rated "Good alternative".


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:16 AM
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If you're willing to settle for good, go ahead.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:17 AM
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Oh, I see. Albacore Tuna gets a super-green? Huh.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:18 AM
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I think I've been eating "avoid" squid.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:20 AM
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73

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/

The whole article is good; the reasons to be excited about Bitcoin are about 3/4 of the way down. Two big ones: reducing transaction costs for standard US citizens and even more so for international workers who pay transaction costs of about 10% to send money back to the US, and making micropayments really quick and easy.

The transaction cost of getting into bitcoin in the first place are unfortunately quite real, and is the only reason I myself don't own any bitcoins right now. Just buying them seems pretty complicated. Presumably that'll get simpler.


Posted by: dz | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:21 AM
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74

Pacific sardines are apparently better. But don't let the purse net be the enemy of the good.


Posted by: Mr. Blandings | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:22 AM
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But Miley's voice is beautiful.

Would you call her a crooner?


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:22 AM
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Oh, no way. What I need is to talk to someone who teaches voice lessons, and get the vocabulary word for the specific crooners are doing with their voice box. Then I could lord it over everyone's head who mocked me.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:24 AM
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I like fish, but I'm pretty much completely off it -- I can't keep track of what's all right and what isn't. I order it in restaurants sometimes, but I figure that's infrequent enough (once or twice a year) that it's harmless. I'd eat fresh sardines grilled every day if I had a reliable source for them, though.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:24 AM
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73: That's pretty obvious nonsense though. He's comparing transaction costs for current payment systems that offer a variety of protections to the consumer to something that does not do that. The fraud part is, in retrospect, hilarious.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:26 AM
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There's a French brand of smoked herring in oil that is quite delish and sustainably fished etc. Will post brand name when can remember. We get it from the shop on Gough near the dance studio that is annoyingly always out of Petite Suisse, but clearly that's not helpful to you as an identification aid. Am occasionally tempted by the vast profusion of smoked and pickled fish in the Russian shops out Geary way, but also very wary of quality standards. Want to support food suppliers who stock 48 varieties of sour cream, but they all taste like chemical vat scrapings.


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:26 AM
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Yesterday someone I was at dinner with asked the waitress where the "Mediterranean sea bass" on the menu was caught. She said that they don't catch them locally (California) because of concerns about Fukushima fallout so it comes from Chile. After several more confused questions she explained that it's a Mediterranean-style sea bass, but of course one isn't meant to think the fish is flown in from the Mediterranean.


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:28 AM
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I thought about asking "so, it's a toothfish?", but everyone else seemed eager to order it, so I shut up.


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:29 AM
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73 - The international transfer is the best thing Bitcoin has going for it; I don't think anyone will be sorry* when Western Union goes under. On the other hand -- and even ignoring the current minor implementation issues of the infrastructure being implemented by an exciting froth of startup greedheads, 21-year-old CS majors with no security background, criminals, and Galt's Gulch idiots -- it's not well-suited for many of the uses we expect currency to be put to due to the need to wait for a few blocks to confirm a transaction. "Oh, I see you've paid for your dinner with Bitcoin. Please just wait four hours before you leave so I can make sure that your payment is recorded properly."

* Telegraph fetishists who are sad about NMM, I guess.


Posted by: snarkout | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:30 AM
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Also, you know, deflationary, and I'm not sure that Bitcoin qua Bitcoin will ever overcome the exciting froth issues. The blockchain idea is a good one, though, and it was a nice whitepaper.


Posted by: snarkout | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:31 AM
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58. Yes, I think that it's about getting rid of transaction costs, enabling micropayments. Medium of exchange rather than store of value. Many of the people now excited about Bitcoin wouldn't agree with this, I agree that they are idiots.

I think that the problems with both the founders and the exchanges to banks behaving dishonestly are basically fatal for the clever protocols behind Bitcoin and related currencies.

I'm liking Edouard Ferlet's bach-based music pretty interesting this week.



Posted by: lw | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:33 AM
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But honestly, a bigger reason to be excited about Bitcoin than any practical benefits we can think of right now is that the cryptographic protocol is really cool! Here's an explanation of the math/logic behind Bitcoin which is accessible to anyone who is curious. Even if Bitcoin collapsed tomorrow, it would still be an amazing intellectual and social accomplishment.


Posted by: dz | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:37 AM
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Oh, sure. Math is great.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:38 AM
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87

That's why we celebrate Évariste Galois as the founder of the modern fractional-reserve banking system.


Posted by: snarkout | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:41 AM
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88

82.last: STOP MASTURBATING STOP


Posted by: Nathan Williams | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:48 AM
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Galois may be my favorite mathematician.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:48 AM
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The guy with the cigarettes named after him?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:48 AM
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Surely the killer app for bitcoin is allowing people to anonymously pay for online porn.

The international transfer is the best thing Bitcoin has going for it; I don't think anyone will be sorry* when Western Union goes under.

Last year I had to go through an annoying multi-step process in which I personally reimbursed a collaborator for part his travel costs to the United States and then got reimbursed myself by the university. I was surprised by what a pain it was to send money internationally.

Not enough of a pain to start me buying bitcoins, though.


Posted by: AcademicLurker | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:48 AM
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I don't masturbate to him, though.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:49 AM
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Mistah Kurtz--NMM


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:51 AM
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87 and 88 are both pleasing.


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 9:55 AM
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Ferlet's project sounds intriguing in the teaser, thanks! Very different from Jacques Loussier!

We heard the Calder Quartet do Schoenberg's 2nd quartet last Sunday in Berkeley, wonderful thrilling performance worth going to if they swing through wherever you are. And tonight going to hear Tord Gustafson, really looking forward to it.

The kid's music teacher gave us a CD recently of solo piano by Chilly Gonzales that is impressively intelligent.


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:03 AM
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I find PayPal transactions are quite easy for international transfers, with the caveat being that I'm transferring the money to myself from myself. And the fee is low enough that I don't mind too much, at least in comparison to what banks charge.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:12 AM
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I like Blue Hill herring in cream. It's jarred, reasonably priced, will keep forever unopened in a fridge and pretty tasty. They also sell wine and Matjes herring. Other than that, presumably Austin has specialty food stores that make their own, some of which you might like. In any case, eat it with ice cold potato vodka.


Posted by: teraz kurwa my | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:24 AM
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The international payments thing is good in theory but would require actual companies not run by dipshits who send passwords embedded in URLs and those would undoubtedly be looking to skim money off the top so it's not really much of a solution.
The only reasonable argument I've heard is that controversial groups (wikileaks, pot stores in CO before the recent Obama admin rule) could no longer be shut down by a government hitting them via payment processors. Sure, but that also doesn't affect most people in their everyday lives.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:25 AM
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Now I'm hungry for fishes and vodka alas it is just shy of 930 here.


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:26 AM
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Do all the fish/vodka places not open until lunch?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:28 AM
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Other than that, presumably Austin has specialty food stores that make their own, some of which you might like. In any case, eat it with ice cold potato vodka.

I don't actually live in Austin. Austin would have tons of options, though.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:30 AM
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I'm in the clutches of a cold, dry administrative record Moby so don't know. It's a sad fate.


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:31 AM
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103

The record Mobys have been getting smaller over time.


Posted by: Eggplant | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:33 AM
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I haven't gotten smaller, the turntables and record sleeves have gotten bigger. Because HFCS.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:35 AM
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I thought you lived an hour or two outside of Austin - i.e. close enough for fairly regular visits. But google says that Blue Hill is carried by Costco and and a bunch of other big chains.


Posted by: teraz kurwa my | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:46 AM
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Oh, that's true. We're closer than that - Jammies commutes into Austin. But it's still a major hassle to get there.

Actually, Jammies has a standing offer that he could swing by a fancy grocery store on his way home, and I never want to delay his getting home, because I'm so fried by the end of the day, so I never take him up on it.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:50 AM
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There should be a Harold Ramis thread. Everyone can use their favorite Caddyshack quotes and muse on the metaphysics of Groundhog Day.


Posted by: PGD | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:52 AM
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108

107: I've always been partial to the "adult ESL instructor" scene at the beginning of Stripes.


Posted by: AcademicLurker | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 10:59 AM
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Herring and vodka 10am let's do this. I wish I knew the various Russian and/or Scandinavian and/or Kosher markets well enough to know where to get the good stuff.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:06 AM
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107 -- I thought it was nice that Obama said "I hope he achieved total consciousness."


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:08 AM
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111

Which would be nice.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:10 AM
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112

I need another word for "various"

Have you considered "miscellany"?


Posted by: urple | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:10 AM
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When this bastard gets filed I will totally be down with a simultaneous herring / vodka 10 am multi city shindig.


Posted by: dairy queen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:12 AM
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114

I don't like clear liquors much. Except gin.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:14 AM
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115

112: "divers"


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:17 AM
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Wholly Divers.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:19 AM
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117

I know where to get the good stuff. I'll go with aquavit, though.


Posted by: Mr. Blandings | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:20 AM
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This is the first demo of an internet-connected white goods appliance I've seen that made it seem like something other than a reason for the manufacturer to raise the price $200.


Posted by: snarkout | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:24 AM
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119

115: "in the assortment"


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:25 AM
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"Assorted".


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:26 AM
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112: Step off, urple. "Miscellany" is what I use.


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:32 AM
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119: "That would be in the assortment, Bob."


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:46 AM
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I think 117 is literally my favorite thing that exists in New York City. Maybe tied at the top with one of the museums and one or two of my relatives or friends.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:50 AM
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Does intellectual property not exist in New York?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:52 AM
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125

It exists everywhere and nowhere, like God.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:53 AM
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Huh, the place that shows up for a google search for "best herring in LA" is some place that I've driven by almost every day for years without knowing about. LET'S DO THIS.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:55 AM
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||

Per the interest shown in a previous thread: The show Vikings, on the History Channel, is starting up again next week, and they're showing a marathon of the past season's shows today (and yesterday), if anyone wants to catch up.

|>


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 11:58 AM
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Does "Hey Ya" have verses? I'll have to listen again.

It has awesome verses. "People say that nothing is forever, what makes love the exception?"


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:00 PM
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Can someone point me to what there is to be excited about, re bitcoin, for people who aren't either paranoid or criminals?

I used bitcoin to stock up on asthma meds via Silk Road last year. This was necessary since big pharma pressured the Justice Department to have Google boot offshore internet pharmacies from the paid search listings, which means that all the legitimate ones can no longer be found, while the scams still dominate the regular search results. And its not like I'm going to go to a real pharmacy because fuck having to spend the time to go to a doctor for a prescription and then pay stupid high prices for shit that really ought to be over-the-counter/generic by now.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:09 PM
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"People say that nothing is forever, what makes love the exception?"

In the song, there are quite a few more "what makes" in that sentence.


Posted by: urple | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:14 PM
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127, Thanks parsimon! I just set up the DVR.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:15 PM
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131: Cool. I'll be interested to hear what you think. The state of affairs at present is pretty confusing if you haven't followed the story.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:22 PM
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126: The third result from that Google search? An article from Red Herring, with this preview text:

It's been yet another turbulent fortnight for Bitcoin, the crypto-currency that's either the best or worst thing in the world right now, depending on your news source.

Posted by: Mr. Blandings | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:35 PM
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I'd seen that phrase before, but my interpretation was driven by confusion between "Dunning-Kruger" and "Voight-Kampff".

Not to mention Baader-Meinhof and Mannheim Steamroller. How are you supposed to keep all these things straight?


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:41 PM
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another word for "various"

this and that, Gemisch, orts


Posted by: Todd | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:47 PM
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The fish thing really upsets me.

I'm guessing there's not a fisherman to be found between the paper's author and her dissertation reviewers. The doctorates of her and and everyone who advised her should be set on fire.

Many people across multiple generations in my dad's family fished as do I and the attitudes and regulations from the 50's and now are worlds apart.

By the time we get to 2007, when Loren bought a ticket on a deep sea day cruise and snapped this picture ...the biggest fish were averaging only a foot, or maybe a little over. That's a staggering change. The biggest fish on display in 2007 was a shark, and sharks, Loren calculated, are now half the size they used to be in the '50s. As to weight, she figured the average prizewinner dropped from nearly 43.8 pounds to a measly 5 pounds -- an 88 percent drop.

God what an idiot. The FL shark regs and loads of the big sharks are on the protected list and "are prohibited from all harvest, possession, landing, purchase, sale or exchange". Also, a quick look through the other game species regs shows that popular ones like tarpon and bonefish are "catch and release only". OMG THESE FISH ARE NO LONGER IN THE TROPHY PICTURES. No shit, almost like the fishing boats don't want to get their business shut down and sent to jail. The management of some of the species like black sea bass is going so well that last year they doubled the catch limit.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:50 PM
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What I need is to talk to someone who teaches voice lessons, and get the vocabulary word for the specific crooners are doing with their voice box.

IANAVT but I don't think crooners are doing anything different with their voice boxes; it's the place of resonance (head vs. chest) that's different. That's still vague, but it's all I got in my current state.


Posted by: | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:56 PM
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Hmmm 136 really does seem like a decisive counterargument.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:56 PM
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What if a shark comes at you and you have to stand your ground? Er, tread your water?


Posted by: Todd | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 12:59 PM
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138: Seems like cheating to bring something to a thread that can't be duplicated in 5 minutes of Internet searching.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:04 PM
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another word for "various"

Lagniappe. Not a synonym, but a substitute.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:06 PM
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Uh, that "and" should be a "shows" or something.

God, she was at Scripps? Oh UC system, how far you've fallen. And now a postdoc at FL State. My dad did his ichthyology PhD at FL State after undergrad at Cal and I'm tempted to send him that article but he's 73 and I'll feel bad if he has a stroke.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:19 PM
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136: Are you sure she's not accounting for changes in species? Because while that'd be really dumb, it'd be almost incredibly dumb.

A line like:

The biggest fish on display in 2007 was a shark, and sharks, Loren calculated, are now half the size they used to be in the '50s

suggests that she's not blindly putting all fish into the same category, but comparing trends in size within species.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:31 PM
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142.1: "The doctorates of her shows and everyone who advised her should be set on fire"?


Posted by: Todd | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:32 PM
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138: Seems like cheating to bring something to a thread that can't be duplicated in 5 minutes of Internet searching.

The same criticism was made in the comments on the linked post.


Posted by: NickS | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:47 PM
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This is the first demo of an internet-connected white goods appliance I've seen that made it seem like something other than a reason for the manufacturer to raise the price $200.

90% of the enhancements (which are nice) in that prototype are UI improvements and nothing to do with the internet. The few things that really benefit from the internet are mostly no use to people who, for instance, aren't able to be at home to pick up a delivery of washing powder.

I mean, I kind of get the benefit of the stereotypical connected home self-restocking-fridge (subject to the aforementioned delivery problem). But a washing machine fundamentally needs you to be there to put the clothes in the machine. There are pretty hard limits to what you can do with laundry via the internet.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:49 PM
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Since I know nothing I'm just copying this from the Radiolab thread, so gswift can have some one to argue with.

curious how many of the detractors of this story (and the story of this story) took the time to 1) read the original scientific publication (published by the peer-reviewed Conservation Biology - 2008) or 2) recognize what the paper's author (McClenachan) is seeking to accomplish. the hard data on decreasing size of fish within a population is well-documented and the over-riding evidence is that smaller fish sizes and changes in catch composition are the direct result of selective fishing pressure, not chance or natural variation. McClenachan is providing visual evidence to what is already well-documented and accepted by the scientific community. Indeed, she concludes in her paper that this visual evidence of disappearing large-bodied fish (such as goliath grouper) "supports evidence from previous analyses" but recognizes that such an approach must be on a case-by-case basis and examined through the existing regulations (such as the moratorium on goliath grouper since 1990). so, at least to me, those who wish to dismiss this work are demonstrating their own lack of inquisitiveness, personal politics, or inability to examine an issue honestly.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:52 PM
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Did y'all read the story about the parents in Connecticut who were all pissy because some kid's great-grandfather picked up their kid (similar hat) from school by accident?

A. How is this even news? It's not like he ate the kid or something -- his wife was like "Hey, that's not our great-grandson" and so they called the school, drove him back there and put him on a bus.

B. You know why there's a fucking nanny state? Because eejits like these people whine and complain the second someone makes an honest mistake, and threaten to sue, and so now there's probably going to be three forms to fill out (in triplicate) to pick your kid up from this school. Jackasses.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/relationship/247259401.html


Posted by: Natilo Paennim | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 1:55 PM
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136.

Declines in the size of Epinephelus groupers caught and displayed were detected in 2007 owing to restrictions on harvest of 2 of the largest species targeted, goliath (E. itajara) and Nassau (E. striatus) groupers. A moratorium on these species was enacted in 1990 and 1997, respectively (Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan 2008)


Posted by: lw | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 2:25 PM
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146 - The scheduling functionality for dorms and the web-based interface for the three wash setting seemed like the better parts; the latter wouldn't *require* internet connectivity, but it seems like the best way to get an interface that normal people can use. (Also, I confess that I just dig e-ink.) I don't think I would buy such a thing; it just seemed actually useful, as opposed to the "your Samsung refrigerator will tell you you're out of milk! for an additional $400." thing, which I agree is only marginally useful.


Posted by: snarkout | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 2:40 PM
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I can't get away from this song. 3 out of 4 times a car has driven by my window playing over-loud music this week, this is what is being played. The song is fine the first dozen times, but I am ready for it to be done now.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 2:46 PM
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- The scheduling functionality for dorms and the web-based interface for the three wash setting seemed like the better parts; the latter wouldn't *require* internet connectivity, but it seems like the best way to get an interface that normal people can use. (Also, I confess that I just dig e-ink.)

They don't need to be web-based at all - just put it on local wifi.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 3:02 PM
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Also, unless American universities are even more strange than I already thought they were, the chances of them paying extra for this sort of functionality are literally zero. I didn't see a coin slot on that prototype.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 3:05 PM
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25: 20: Actually doing a bit of new searching, and so far the earliest found a September 2012 reference in a Civilization forum...

Because I am avoiding work this kind of stuff fascinates me, I did a bit more looking and found two 2011 references to the phrase "Dunning-Kruggerand" but neither in conjunction with Bitcoin. Nov. 2011 I suddenly feel compelled to invent a currency called Dunning-Krugerrands, with which to pay the salaries of incompetent people who can't be fired... But before that from July, 2011 the Frog and Bucket Comedy Club in Manchester had in conjunction with a show (The Dunning-Kruger Effect) : so grab some Dunning Krugerrand cash on your way in and pay for the best night of your life!

Curious as to how many "independent" coinages there were.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 3:06 PM
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I did in fact download the pdf of her paper. For example "sharks" are a group is n=44 for pictures spanning 1956-2007 with 1 in the 1980 to 1985 column and 12 in the 2007 column. Oh, and all 12 of the 2007's are immature sharpnose sharks, which she notes without any mention that the big sharks in pics from the 50's like great whites and hammerheads are now totally fucking illegal to keep and photograph. What the hell is this even supposed to tell us?

The data table has four columns for the groupings. 1956-1960, 1965-1979, 1980-1985, and 2007. The n for each column is 424, 400, 41, and 410, using about a dozen groupings of fish with all sharks being lumped together into a single category. So basically what's being compared is 1956-1979 to 2007. The earlier era was a godamn free for all where bag limits were so high to be almost meaningless and catch and release was basically non existent. To compare those trophy photos with 2007 like they're comparable data sources is madness.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 3:17 PM
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Scientists love talking about their research, gswift. I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you emailed her to ask for clarification.


Posted by: x.trapnel | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 4:20 PM
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But tone is important! Show that you're passionate--maybe lead with how her diploma should be set of fire.


Posted by: x.trapnel | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 4:25 PM
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Looking at the civ fanatics forum, it's pretty clear the person who posted the name there got it from somewhere else: "They've got loads of great nicknames. Buttcoins, Autist Kroner, Dunning-Krugerrands, Douchemarks, Ron Paul Fun Bux..."


Posted by: Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 4:41 PM
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gswift should do 156 and post the transcript here.


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 4:45 PM
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158: Jerkoffsthaler?


Posted by: Turgid Jacobian | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 5:04 PM
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In the methods section of that paper her cite for how the fishing sites have remained constant is...the FAQ of the charter boat's website. I don't know, maybe interview some current and retired captains and ask about how methods and customer preferences have changed over time? Snagging a tiger or a great white doesn't usually just happen, you're doing things like running a chum line specifically to bring in big sharks. A lot of the big sharks are now illegal to catch and the culture of it is very different from 50 years ago. People loves them some Shark Week and I'm guessing a lot of customers aren't down for killing majestic beasts for sport the way they were in the past.

And again, I see no discussion of the rise of catch and release in that paper at all. There's totally fresh water versions of those trophy pics in the scrapbooks in my dad's family. Pics of them with a ridiculous number of trout like there's a famine going on. The thing is, all those pics are pre 1970 and don't exist in our current photo collections. Not because we don't still fish, but because that kind of thing isn't done anymore.


Posted by: gswift | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 5:04 PM
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Buttcoins. Huh huh.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 5:09 PM
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Dragma? RubeLs?


Posted by: Turgid Jacobian | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 5:13 PM
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Floorins?


Posted by: Turgid Jacobian | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 5:13 PM
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Anyway, best guess seems to be that it's from the Something Awful forums, sometime in the first half of 2012. See a vague prior search on Metafilter here: http://www.metafilter.com/126699/In-mathematics-we-trust


Posted by: Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 02-26-14 5:26 PM
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Huh, if the Miley Cyrus cover in question is the one she did at the Staples Center, it seems boring in the main part of the song and embarrassing when she gets to the "break it down" part.

The specific version heebie was referring to is actually the one she did in Tacoma (linked by helpy-chalk at the other place), which seems to have been a better performance than the LA one. There are a few videos of it on YouTube AOTW, of which this one seems to have the best audio (though not the best visuals).

(And yes, I watched several YT videos of Miley performing this song in order to compose this comment. No regrets.)


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 02-27-14 3:34 AM
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If I had any clue where my doctorate had fucked off to, I might actually set it in fire. And then throw it off the roof.


Posted by: Von Wafer | Link to this comment | 02-27-14 6:01 AM
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(And yes, I watched several YT videos of Miley performing this song in order to compose this comment. No regrets.)

I watched one of those as well. I was impressed by the huge number of people in the audience filming the thing on their iphones. I guess Miley Sirus iphone videos are the new Grateful Dead bootleg tapes.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 02-27-14 6:20 AM
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