Text 46024, 176 rader
Skriven 2006-12-24 19:11:00 av Ed Hulett
     Kommentar till en text av Michiel Van Der Vlist
Ärende: America
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Michiel van der Vlist -> Ed Hulett wrote:
 MvdV> Hello Ed!

 MvdV> On Sunday December 24 2006 08:18, you wrote to me:

 MvdV>>> When you get to a certain age you realise that time is the only
 MvdV>>> commodity that really matters as it is truly irreplaceable. So
 MvdV>>> I do not want to waste time. As a consequence I stay away from
 MvdV>>> things that are in all likehood impossible.

 EH>> Wow, you really miss out a lot, don't you?

 MvdV> On the contrary. Steering away from the impossible gives me time to
 MvdV> enjoy things that *are* within reach.

 MvdV>>> And believe it or not many things *are* impossible.

 EH>> Nothing is impossible.

 MvdV> Utter nonsense.

 MvdV> - You can not determine both the speed and the position of a
 MvdV>   particle with arbitrary precision.
 MvdV> - You can not go faster than light.
 MvdV> - You can not go back in time.
 MvdV> - You can not fit a 4 mm peg into a 3 mm hole.
 MvdV> - You can not be in two places at the same time.
 MvdV> - You can not live forever.
 MvdV> - You can not put two fermions in the same quantum state.
 MvdV> - You can not climb out of a black hole.
 MvdV> - You can not have the cake and eat it too.
 MvdV> - You can not divide an angle in three using only compass and ruler.
 MvdV> - You can not count the number of points on a straight line.
 MvdV> - You can not prove that Goldbach's conjecture can not be proven.
 MvdV> - You can not disprove Fermat's last theorem.
 MvdV> - You cab not lift a 1 meter platinum cube with human bare hands only.
 MvdV> - You cab not breathe in a vacuum.
 MvdV> - You can not outrun an elephant.
 MvdV> - You cab not force the horse to drink, although you can lead it to
water.

 MvdV> The list is endless.

At the rate that scientific discoveries are being made and old impossibilities
becoming possible, it is my position that nothing is impossible, it's just that
we haven't discovered how to make it possible.

 EH>>>>>> I'm sure someone more creative than me in that area could come
 EH>>>>>> up with something.

 MvdV>>>>> Well, they didn't.

 EH>>>> No joke?

 MvdV>>> Nothing that worked anyway.

 EH>> I see, what did they try?

 MvdV> For one: some megafile search system to compete with Google.

Oh yeah, now there's an original idea.

 EH>>>> 300 baud was the usual speed back then. Not many could afford a
 EH>>>> 1200 baud modem back then.

 MvdV>>> Coming to think of it, I had a 1200 Bps modem as well. That was
 MvdV>>> V23 modem. I.e. split speed 1200/75. At the time those were
 MvdV>>> sponsored by the telecom who promoted Viditel.

 EH>> Back then the Hayse 1200 baud modem was around $400 back then.

 MvdV> I know, the 1200/1200 modems were very expensive. The 1200/75 modems
 MvdV> were a good alternative for users who didn't do uploads.

Not here in the US.

 MvdV>>> Ok. I just brought up the point thing because I think the
 MvdV>>> pointlist is a fair indication of the rise and fall of FidoNet
 MvdV>>> here in The Netherlands.

 EH>> Yes, it's a good indication that FIDO is a sick puppy.

 MvdV> we have to face reality. Fido is not a puppy anymore, it is a very old
 MvdV> dog. Nothing lives forever.

LOL! "Sick puppy" is just an expression.

 MvdV>>>>> The haydays of Fido were in the early 90s. 30.000+ nodes
 MvdV>>>>> world wide...

 EH>>>> Late 80s early 90s.

 MvdV>>> Z2 lagged a bit behind Z1. The top was around 1995 here.

 EH>> That is understandable since FIDO started in the US.

 MvdV> Actually FidoNet in Z1 waa already on the decline when it was still
 MvdV> rising in Z2.

True.

 MvdV>>>>> Seems to me you are blaming the organisation...

 EH>>>> No, I was blaming it on the inability to foresee the changes and
 EH>>>> coming up with something to stem the tide.

 MvdV>>> And *who* were you blaming then for the inability to foresee?

 EH>> Those in a position to do something about it.

 MvdV> And who was that?

Do I have to name them?

 EH>>>> I have yet to find a usenet group that is worth while.

 MvdV>>> As I said, it is a matter of opinion. I have come across and
 MvdV>>> participated in some very interesting news groups.

 EH>> If you can pick out the interesting posts from all the spams and cat
 EH>> fights.

 MvdV> Not all usenet groups are like that.

The only groups that aren't like that are either moderated or only locally
routed.

 MvdV>>> And I think you are very wrong. It is only a small minority
 MvdV>>> that is after pornography.

 EH>> If it's a minority, why are there so many porn sites and porn groups?

 MvdV> Are there? I very seldom accidentally hit a porn site. I do not percieve
 MvdV> that there are that many. Relatively speaking.

There are hundreds of porn related usenet groups. It's a pain trying to select
groups when you have to scroll through hundreds of alt dot porn crap.

If you want to see just a small example of porn related websites, just do a
google or yahoo search using seemingly innocent key words.

 EH>>>> Whoa! AM isn't dead, just check 160 meters. Those good old boys
 EH>>>> on 160 would call you a blasphemer if they heard you say that.

 MvdV>>> Am isn't completely dead but it is on the way out fast. The
 MvdV>>> broadcasters are going digital soon. And yes, there are still a
 MvdV>>> few diehards on the amateur bands with old AM stuff. Angry nine
 MvdV>>> comes to mind. Museum stuff...

 EH>> Here in the US we have a very healthy AM broadcast industry. I
 EH>> wouldn't write the eulogy just yet.

 MvdV> I give it less than ten years for the broadcasters to abandon it. Maybe
 MvdV> not even five. Digital radio is the future.

Uh huh, they said TV was going to replace radio back in the 1940s and 50s.

I'm not about to pay to listen to my radio.

Ed

-- 
"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue,
and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition." -- Thomas Jefferson

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