Well, you're sorta right, Project. A true honor system would be "pay what you think it's worth", like what Radiohead did with their last album.

That would be more like a tip jar, which might rely on the honor system, isn't the most perfect example of one. An honor system simply means that you expect a certain type of behaviour (in this case, paying the set prices for the things you buy), but we're not going to monitor you, we're going to depend on your honor to follow the rules. The honor system doesn't preclude happening to notice that somebody's breaking them repeatedly and enforcing them in that case (kicking out persistent freeloaders), or having specific prices.

Maybe people with standing should launch their own lawsuits. Even if they're technically groundless (and I don't know the law, so I have no idea. I certainly hope not), it might at least draw attention and get some news, or make them think twice about what they're doing.

Failing that, get word to Obama. He's like a superhero now, isn't he?

I love Bakka. It was one of my favorite, most-frequented stores until it moved away from Yonge. Now it's too far outside of my usual range (since I walk almost everywhere I go regularly) to go to with any regularity.

Seems overengineered for its purpose. It's like an intricately designed tab that, when you hold it to the tab on the side of your toilet and press down, it flushes the toilet.

Really, how hard is it to open a book that has a bookmark in it to the proper page? If this is a problem that vexes you, reading probably isn't high on your list of regular activities anyway.
Almost verges on Chindogu...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chind%C5%8Dgu

Oddly enough, this painting was commissioned in reaction to a 1504 painting entitled "Lady With A Goatse"

That first one right there rankles me. I don't think it's true that fans love inconsistencies. The fact is, fans will usually _forgive_ inconsistencies, and, because of their love for the basic material, will usually try to come up with things that explain why they're really not inconsistencies after all. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't rather they weren't there. So maybe good advice is "don't overly stress over inconsistencies", because fans will forgive it. They're human, they understand mistakes, and can even have a little fun with it if you're open and inviting about it, like Marvel was in the old days. But to suggest that you should ignore old stories and not bother to do any necessary research is like saying, "hey, don't worry about spelling mistakes... fans can proofread! They'll love it!"

No, because if you obviously don't care, you're giving permission to your fans not to either. Creating a sloppy, inferior product is not good advice.

Congrats! Is she being released under Creative Commons?

Great set of names, too. I think if I ever have a kid, I might have to give one of them the middle name Steampunk, though.

Hey, I had this book! I also had ones that I'm pretty sure were from the same publishers, one on ghosts, one on Space Travel, and one on UFOs and aliens. I probably still have at least one of them somewhere around here, although I'd have to dig around to find it.

It's also a good way to cure someone of an infestation by one of the Insects from Shaggai.

I would like to see the $119 build your own bomb shelter toy if somebody happens to have one.

Not sure what the cybersquatting laws are here in Canada, but if I were this guy I'd go looking up any other Ed Stelmach in Canada and offering the domain to him, or, offering him a deal whereby this other Ed Stelmach becomes the legal registrar of the domain, but work out a deal where I rent control from him for some nominal fee $1. Ed Stelmach then therefore has registered the domain, and if he chooses to have it link to my blog, that's my right.

Then again, if I was this guy, I wouldn't have been jerk enough to cybersquat on somebody else's name to begin with, since it's kind of a jerkish thing to do... but if I was such a jerk, the above is how I'd continue to be jerky.

I have to admit one of my personal pet peeves is the usage of the word "win" to advertise an auction. You're not winning anything, you're buying it, all that an auction is the sale of a single item to a single person with a novel way of settling the price. A person 'wins' by being able to and willing to spend the most money, much like too much in life. If it were a raffle, where you could buy as many tickets as you wanted, but even buying one ticket gave you a chance to win, that would justify the use of the word.

Good luck with the auction though, it is a good cause, and I might check out the book when it gets released normally. I just wanted to rant a bit. :)

I can't remember my actual first name (I was bbsing before i was 9), but the first one I used with any regularity I believe was 'Swordsman'. Which wasn't so bad, but I understand a lot of innuendo went right over my head.

Later I was Lord Soth.

Enjoyable debate to read. I'm a strong advocate for hypothetical future AI rights (I often use a forced choice between the life of a robot vs that of a cute little puppy in my hypothetical examples), but I have to agree with XOPL in general here. Torturing a Pleo _might_ be a bad sign in somebody, much like dismembering dolls might be, but it doesn't necessarily _have_ to be. Too much depends on motive. If you're doing it because you enjoy the simulated cries of pain, then it's probably a bad thing. But if you're testing parameters, or hell, even doing it to explore or demonstrate the reaction a simulated pain inspires in people, then it may not be, just like killing an animal for kicks is frowned upon, but killing it for a meal is not, even if the animal has to be in pain.

Here's another thing to consider, if you consider it's wrong to torture Pleo. Two Pleos (or similar robotic creatures). Pretty much exactly the same, except one thrashes and moans and does all the other stuff, and the other doesn't... but it still, on its internal sensors, registers the movements and 'damage' in exactly the same way. If WhinyPleo is experiencing pain, you'd have to say BravePleo is, too. It's just not _showing_ it. So is it wrong of you to torture that, hit it to death with a hammer? If so, is it wrong of you to damage a car that senses damage to itself as a means of say, deploying airbags? Where do we stop? Is the only difference that one looks like an animal? What is the difference between 'sensing damage' and 'experiencing pain'?

#61 (Noen): Just wondering if you read Blindsight, by Peter Watts, since he seems to raise a few of the same issues.

I second the notion of the $989898 being a little _too_ odd. (maybe it was someone on the story being clever... they saw it was 989903 or something and thought it would be funny to describe it as 'over $989898'. If so, my hat's off to them)

And... okay, I can _almost_ see people falling for a secret satellite scan. But CIA agents breaking into their homes and secretly medicating them while they slept? I can't understand why anybody would want that. Even if I was foolish enough to believe they _could_ do that, I'd prefer a nice package of pills mailed to me, thanks.

I second the notion of the $989898 being a little _too_ odd. (maybe it was someone on the story being clever... they saw it was 989903 or something and thought it would be funny to describe it as 'over $989898'. If so, my hat's off to them)

And... okay, I can _almost_ see people falling for a secret satellite scan. But CIA agents breaking into their homes and secretly medicating them while they slept? I can't understand why anybody would want that. Even if I was foolish enough to believe they _could_ do that, I'd prefer a nice package of pills mailed to me, thanks.

Sounds like a textbook example of a mental abduction by the Great Race of Yith. His body was off performing alien science!

Bought this in paperback some time ago, and quite enjoyed it... not my favorite of Vinge's work, but quite a lot of neat ideas there, and some technology I really wish we had now (and some not-so-much).

I'm a big fan of walking, although all mine is directed - I walk to and from work, totalling about 6 hours a week on average. I also always try to take the stairs rather than escalators, and almost never drink anything but water (like Jetsetsc). I think in part because of this I've remained fairly slim and I eat a fair bit, including decadent things.

I'm no expert, but I can't imagine a method like this not being easily circumvented with another generation or two of p2p programs. I mean, sharing files is the essence of the internet on a base level, right?

I knew it was being filmed in Toronto (I'm there too), but I thought it was all done. Where was it? On my way home, on Easten Ave, I saw a couple streets closed off and I wondered if they were doing any movie stuff there.

And I don't see anything contradictory about BB linking to Amazon, Scoutmaster. I don't think they've ever claimed to be absolutely against making money in any form.

As to rereading books dozens of times... well, when you read fast, time's not a problem, and people watch movies or TV shows or listen to music multiple times, and people don't usually comment on that.

Ah, had to track down and delete the local copy of the FLV file they put on my computer. So now I've seen the whole thing. It looks good effectswise, but yeah, it looks like they changed way too many things for my liking. I'll probably still want to see it, but I'll be wishing it was more like the book.

Absolutely love the book, it's one of my most-reread books.

But I guess I'll have to wait until they use something other than crappy flash for the trailer, since it cuts out on me after a few seconds.

I don't think the article says anything about the building an apartment and living there being "art", just that the people who did it are artists - there were, for example, documenting mall life while they were there. If a headline said that an artist committed murder, it wouldn't necessarily imply that they considered the murder art.

Just recently got into Stross, though I've been meaning to for a while, in part because of this site. Recently read Accelerando, my first, and already ordered two others.

I'll probably wait for paperback for this, but it sounds interesting enough that I'll pick it up eventually.

(And yeah, publishing work for free does have some attractive benefits - my current read is Peter Watts Blindsight, which I wouldn't have even heard of if not for BB pimping the fact that it was put free online, and my loving the first chapter and deciding I had to read it all in paper format)

It's simple. You shoot to _miss_ the 100% guy first. Then you have a 66% chance of hitting him. Even if you miss, the 50%er will probably target him too. Then you aim to miss the 50%er. ;)

It's simple. You shoot to _miss_ the 100% guy first. Then you have a 66% chance of hitting him. Even if you miss, the 50%er will probably target him too. Then you aim to miss the 50%er. ;)

But to me the reason for popping bubble wrap isn't the sound, it's the feel. Unless the gadget also replicates that, it's useless.

Hmmm... I wonder, idly. If the levy were repealed, would file sharing remain legal in cases where it was copied to a media purchased while it was still enforced? After all, the money was paid, and for that purpose.

Lasers make everything better.

Once you've paid for the item, it's your own property, and you have a right for that to be secure and not have to justify it to anybody that you actually do own it. If they can't get their act together to be able to tell that you purchased something without searching your belongings, they really need a better system.

As to what is lost in complying, well, aside from the basic right of not being treated like a criminal, in some cases, there's a time factor. If it's not just a random check because they may have suspected something, but large numbers of people are having their bags and receipts inspected, you're waiting in a line to leave with your property.

Yes, the store is private property, and the private property is free to set any ground rules they wish - and their recourse if you choose not to obey those rules, like the owner of any private property, is to ask you to leave or, in extreme cases, ask that you not return. They're not a law unto themselves.