Disqus - Latest Comments for riprowan

Re: Vitalik’s Dilemma: Why no other open crypto-currency could supplant Bitcoin

riprowan — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 10:28:39 -0000

> There is no technical reason why any improvement or feature adopted by a rival could not be also adopted by Bitcoin.

There may in fact be technical reasons why features adopted by a rival cannot be adopted by Bitcoin, but the fact is that "technical issues" have almost nothing to do with the situation.

As we have clearly seen, Bitcoin is not driven by its market, but by a development monoculture that like all monocultures is fragile and resists change from outside the monoculture. This monoculture is already firmly established and is quite successful at rejecting any ideas from outside the monoculture.

Core developers and supporters will tell you that Bitcoin is not majoritarian and that anyone dissatisfied with the direction should just sell their coins.

That is why many improvements or features will never be adopted by Bitcoin, unfortunately. If Core is right, then what you say here:

> The dilemma is that by replacing one established consensus based cryptocurrency with another, the entire experiment becomes a failure. It is mutually assured destruction.

will likely come to pass.

Re: Why Stack Overflow Doesn't Care About Ad Blockers – Stack Overflow Blog – A destination for all things related to development at Stack Overflow

riprowan — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:26:30 -0000

The way I look at it, to the degree that ads are content, then they're more or less OK, especially to the degree that they are relevant content.

To the degree that ads become unwanted scripts executing on my machine without my permission, then they're more or less malware.

Re: ISIS parks its cash in Bitcoin, experts say

riprowan — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 03:29:04 -0000

Absolutely correct. If Ghost believes they have identified a Bitcoin address held by ISIS, then by all means, make it public, so everyone can see where the payments are going.

Since they haven't done so, we must assume this story is FALSE.

Re: Decentralized Identity and Content Attribution: We Need a Specification

riprowan — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 04:05:07 -0000

But if this blockchain is permissionless then the bad actor can retain authorship of his plagiarism regardless of being found out. Just like a Bitcoin thief can't have his Bitcoin invalidated or taken away. Ownership is ownership.

If some *authority* can take away the plagiarized works from the malactor, then we're back to a central authority model of copyright.

Otherwise I'm not sure what you're suggesting.

Re: Decentralized Identity and Content Attribution: We Need a Specification

riprowan — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 03:23:57 -0000

As soon as the system exists it will be trivial for a malactor to literally attribute all content not already attributed (99.999% of everything) to himself.

Re: Google Drive may offer auto-backup of photos instead of Google+

riprowan — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 14:46:55 -0000

Google+ Photos is a joke. No sort-by option means finding old photos in a large library is impossible. Sync your backed-up phone with your Chromebook and FUBAR your Photos as all your photos are loaded into Photos on *today's* date. And now Google's rolling out alternatives? How about a *strategy*?

Dropbox + Carousel is a much more elegant solution.

Re: The Reason That Cheeks Peel in Your Mouth

riprowan — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 14:01:46 -0000

I have had this condition for decades. The problem is that it is almost impossible to disregard the constant peeling of skin in the mouth, leading to a nervous condition of fiddling with and chewing on the skin sheets that are constantly sloughing off. As a result I have spent years "nibbling" tiny bits of skin between my incisors resulting in some bone loss from constant pressure and wiggling on my front teeth.

Re: Bitcoin Is About to Take Over the Stock Market

riprowan — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 03:38:18 -0000

Two quick reasons: (1) Aversion to tech (2) possibility of holding in Roth IRA

Re: Bitcoin Is About to Take Over the Stock Market

riprowan — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 03:37:34 -0000

Are we really still doing the tulip mania comparison?

If tulips could be infinitely subdivided and sent instantly and securely point-to-point over a variety of networks including internet, radio, and SMS, trust me, we'd already be using tulips for money.

Since they can't....

Re: Whatsapp Just Switched On End-To-End Encryption For Hundreds of Millions of Users

riprowan — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 12:03:02 -0000

Relevant: http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photo...

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:38:55 -0000

I don't think anything of the kind and I don't appreciate you putting that on me.

What I think, is that the entire scientific process - pro and con - has been politicized since around 2003, and as a result of it, all unbiased people should question the science - pro and con.

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:24:56 -0000

I guess we have to agree to disagree. That graph shows an average temperature norm within +/-5 degrees for the last ten million years and +/- 10 degrees for the 500 million year period before that. I see no evidence of temperature spiraling permanently out of control.

You're the one who said Earth tends toward equilibrium. I was just agreeing with you.

Edit: if the data you presented are correct, it would seem that we have been in an unusual period of climate stasis for the last 10,000 years. I wonder what caused that or why we would expect it to continue forever.

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:13:30 -0000

I'm not choosing to assume anything. I offered a hypothetical. If the data are accurate, and the models are wrong, they err in the direction of predicting warming. Maybe the models are right and the data are wrong. In my original post I said as much.

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 16:51:38 -0000

If "Snowball Earth" actually occurred, we are not there now.

That is why I say the Earth has a multi-billion year history of tending toward equilibrium. The Earth didn't just runaway freeze into a permanently frozen planet. Even in the face of a disruptor so strong it froze most of the planet, the Earth still normed back to a warmer equilibrium.

I'll point out also that the Earth has experienced periods of CO2 hundreds of times higher than today and it apparently did not turn the planet into Venus.

Edit: none of this makes me an AGW denier. Just a person very skeptical of the degree of politicization and fearmongering that has taken over this area which formerly was the domain of science.

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 16:45:53 -0000

Sanjait you understand that the situation as you have described it is one in which you can either work within the research establishment to demonstrate AGW or you can go elsewhere?

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 16:42:48 -0000

If the historical data are correct and the models are off it means that the models overpredict warming.

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 16:40:07 -0000

Equilibrium is one of the reasons I choose to disregard the doomsday predictions.

The Earth has a multi-billion year history of tending towards equilibrium in the face of strong disruptors.

Carbon fuels will become prohibitively expensive long before we have caused any lasting harm to the planet from them.

If the Earth was going to become inhospitable to life, it would have done so by now.

That said I think everyone has a responsibility to pollute and consume less. We just don't need the apocalyptic predictions which serve only to divide popular opinion and to dilute the truth.

Re: Was the climate cooling or warming before humans? Study presents a ‘conundrum’

riprowan — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 16:34:45 -0000

The title of this article should read "Climate Models fail to Accurately Predict the Past."

So in a nutshell, all the evidence suggests that the Earth was cooling until about 150 years ago. However, computer models disagree and say that the Earth must have been warming.

Now obviously we need to have another look at the evidence and discern that in fact the evidential data are sound.

But assuming that the data are sound and assuming that the Earth was in fact cooling, the "Occam's Razor" conclusion is quite simple: the models are wrong and are biased towards predicting a warming trend.

Re: Nexus 5 camera prowess showcased on Google+

riprowan — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 04:49:00 -0000

They came from Google+so they were already resized for web

Re: Here are a few new Nexus 5 camera samples (let’s hope these aren’t taken down)

riprowan — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 04:46:14 -0000

If you're a professional photographer then you know "the best camera is the one you have with you."

THAT is why photogs want the best possible camera on their phone.

Re: Ask Engadget: best carry-on electronics bag?

riprowan — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:46:13 -0000

One word: TENBA

Re: Sony RX1 camera leaks with full-frame sensor in compact body, laws of physics slightly bent

riprowan — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:32:41 -0000

Sorry meant M42

Re: Sony RX1 camera leaks with full-frame sensor in compact body, laws of physics slightly bent

riprowan — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:22:17 -0000

I would guess that's an M-Mount lens. In which case, it's not just interchangeable, it's AWESOME.

Re: Two-Year Sentences for Punk Rockers’ Unauthorized Anti-Putin Performance in Russian Cathedral

riprowan — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 09:01:58 -0000

Don't feed the trolls.

Re: Two-Year Sentences for Punk Rockers’ Unauthorized Anti-Putin Performance in Russian Cathedral

riprowan — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 09:01:03 -0000

Hauled out, yes. Fined, yes. Maybe even a few days in jail to think things over.

Two years? First offense? Totally incomprehensible to me.