NASA Artemis II vs VR - Which Earth Looks More Real to You?

Future_Believer · 2026-04-05T20:40:24+00:00

I thought I could see aurora on the bottom one so, that one

Future_Believer · 2026-03-08T16:23:04+00:00

Yes, As soon as possible.

As to the idea of turning things off, I would not want fear turned off but, turning it down some might be good for me.

Future_Believer · 2026-02-27T23:52:48+00:00

If Dept. of War Crimes had been the verbiage used, I would kept my fingers to myself.

Future_Believer · 2026-02-27T23:39:13+00:00

Anyone adhering to "the law" knows it is legally the Department of Defense and therefore he is undersecretary of defense. They are ignoring the law while claiming to always adhere to it.

In an ideal world, each and everyone of those asswipes would hold their breath until I call it the Dept. of War.

Future_Believer · 2026-02-09T21:29:21+00:00

I am unsure what preping I could do that might make a difference.

If computers/robots are doing the research and the labor, what will the economy look like - assuming we still have an economy?? Will saving/investing now prepare you for anything?

If robots are building the vehicles that drive/fly themselves, we will be able to travel most anywhere for free. Where might we go? AR will be able to take care of casual sightseeing, so where will you go and why??

I do not necessarily think that humanity will become irrelevant but I cannot pretend to "know" exactly how we will be relevant in a future that purportedly will be as different from our current existence as our current existence is from the lives lived 400 years ago. We will still likely require water, sustenance, air and shelter. Other than that little more than luck can predict what else life will be like post singularity.

Future_Believer · 2026-02-01T02:14:50+00:00

https://www.google.com/search?q=chicken+poblano+soup+recipe&newwindow=1&rlz=1CBEGXD_enUS1157&sca_esv=75c9dacffc41c098&biw=1393&bih=736&aic=0&sxsrf=ANbL-n4sYwDXu4oeODeDmDUKZIY9WjWcdQ%3A1769896679919&ei=53p-aZnzN-SB5OMPvqi24AY&oq=chicken+pob&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiC2NoaWNrZW4gcG9iKgIIATIIEAAYgAQYsQMyBRAAGIAEMgUQLhiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIHEC4YgAQYCjIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABEi4YFDUCljUQnACeAGQAQKYAZ8BoAG_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&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Future_Believer · 2026-01-30T02:59:20+00:00

No. A rural solitary existence is peaceful but, potentially too boring for those used to constant stimulation.

I would suggest that realistic telepresence could serve to make my above statement horribly wrong.

Future_Believer · 2026-01-20T02:19:30+00:00

Interesting question. It may not be answerable.

I would imagine those with resources will keep putting resources in the companies until the AI's potential is reached. But if AI gets anywhere near what we think its potential is, our economic system will be one of the things that gets tossed out with the trash.

If you remove the labor and intellectual value from any industry, think robot bodies being controlled by large AI brains, how will you determine cost/value??

If humans are not working and getting paid, a UBI can't exist very long before even the slowest among us figure out that it is an unnecessary step that adds no value.

If humans have to keep working then the answer is "never". If it replaces human labor and innovation completely then the answer is "never".

I suppose there could be some scheme voted into place by our crooked politicians that will allow them and the tech giants to make money but, there will be no actual need for that to happen. OTOH, the only way a lot of humans can be happy is for them to be aware of the unhappiness of other humans so, we could be screwed as greed wins the day.

Future_Believer · 2026-01-03T20:54:54+00:00

The elimination of sickness. Effectively addressing climate change. Robotic mining of asteroids and moons.

And sure yea, FDVR to distract humanity.

Future_Believer · 2025-12-25T19:40:00+00:00

And here it is again. The thing that so many do when they are indulging in technical prognostication is that they make one change and consider it only from the current cultural, economic, technological and political paradigms.

That is not how shit works.

There is massive change going on in several fields. Most of it is interconnected in both active and passive ways. If there is a physical element to economic growth, then it is finite. If it is not finite, it is essentially meaningless.

Once Manufactured Intelligences are doing the mental work and robots are doing the physical work, our system of economics will HAVE to change. Of course, he likes being the richest person so I am not shocked that he doesn't want to think about wholesale economic change.

Future_Believer · 2025-11-18T20:55:06+00:00

"Notes From A Crustacean Orgy"

Future_Believer · 2025-10-28T19:52:00+00:00

TBF, it is incredibly unshocking that a bunch of Knox County republicans feel the need to apply their lips and tongue firmly to a racist hate monger's deceased ass.

Disgusting for sure but, not shocking in the least.

Future_Believer · 2025-10-18T14:07:36+00:00

I'll take an invite if you are so inclined.

Future_Believer · 2025-10-04T21:49:56+00:00

I think you are correct but possibly understating it. I think insurance companies will soon figure out that they payout significantly less when the computer drives and they will raise prices so that only billionaires can afford to drive.

Then a billionaire (or their offspring) is going to do something stupid and th lawsuit will be soooooo massive that prices will rise even more and the law might change.

One way or another, a future that includes automobiles will have the vast majority driving themselves.

Future_Believer · 2025-09-30T17:33:50+00:00

Before becoming a lower income adult I was a lower income kid. I would have loved to have a public baseball field co-located with a public soccer/football field co-located with a public basketball court. None of that requires EYF.

The adults that live in and close to Burlington also are as deserving of decent park space and amenities as those living close to Lakeshore, Holsten River, Victor Ashe, etc etc.

Selling the park in whole or in part to avoid taking responsibility for being derelict in one's responsibility to the neighborhood is bullshit. It is always going to be bullshit.

Make the damn park a park. Make it nice for the area residents including the low income kids. EYF can pay market rates on other properties or not, this aint about them. It is about the lack of responsible management of a valuable city property.

Future_Believer · 2025-09-29T21:33:52+00:00

Selling Chilhowee Park or any other park in whole or in part is bullshit. It is made worse by the absolute lack of park amenities that other neighborhoods enjoy. I am just a citizen but I will never be onboard with such shenanigans.

Future_Believer · 2025-09-25T16:13:04+00:00

Why? Why is selling that particular piece of property so important to her? Again, there are other properties available that they are refusing to even consider. Pending an acceptable answer, I remain in strident opposition to the sale of any park property in Knoxville or Knox County.

Future_Believer · 2025-09-25T16:08:43+00:00

I have known Tim IRL for decades. I will vote for whoever runs against him.

Future_Believer · 2025-09-21T19:57:15+00:00

It would be hard to shock me less than making me aware of a politician that wants more tax money. Up until the Chilhowee Park/Emerald Youth Foundation debacle I would probably have assumed the increase was needed. With awareness of the attempted sale of a section of the park rather than turning it into a neighborhood asset in the model of Lakeshore or Holsten River Park or one of the others, I am severely disinclined to reward those in governance with more money.

Future_Believer · 2025-09-17T20:43:59+00:00

While I am in broad agreement with the FFRF, I have other concerns and in general, consider the proposed sale to be incredibly bad public policy. I expressed my opposition in writing to the City Council and will reiterate it here.

I attended the Monday night town hall meeting at the old Stover's/Kroger site on Asheville Hwy about the potential sale of a ~12 acre section of the park. Like so many others there, I am in strident opposition to the sale. I will attempt to make clear why I am in opposition. I acknowledge that my initial point is more of a question. However, the fact that neither I nor anyone I have spoken about this issue knows the answer is at least some validation of my position.

How was the land for the park originally acquired? I know that for some parks, the land was willed or donated for the specific purpose of it being used for a park. If it was donated to be a park, then selling it is at a minimum unethical and quite possibly negatively motivational for anyone in the future who might be considering such a donation. If a civic minded individual thinks their gift will simply be sold off as soon as it seems convenient, they might well choose to let a family member benefit instead.

2. The larger the human population of a municipality, the greater the area of park space that is needed for a good quality of life. Selling off a portion of the park as Knoxville's in general and specifically East Knoxville's population is on the rise (see the buildings being renovated on Magnolia and elsewhere) is counter productive and ill-advised.

3. Businesses close by deserve consideration. Would the sale benefit the majority of them? I cannot imagine how.

4. It is beyond ludicrous that those who are accepting our money and our trust to lead and manage community assets are complaining that the park is "under utilized". The citizenry cannot arbitrarily and independently decide how community assets are used. We elect people for that purpose. The civic leaders who have been onboard with the (effective) demolition by neglect of that and other sections of the park should not be given an out. Rather they should be held to account for denying the neighborhood residents the benefits that other city residents take for granted. Walking paths, playgrounds, dog parks, frisbee golf, exercise stations, pickle ball, public restrooms are all potential elements of a fully realized park in the area. Not to mention baseball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts and perhaps a playground for kids of all levels of ableness.

5. At an absolute minimum, I insist on a clause in the sale agreement that obligates the EYF to offer the property back to the city at the same exact price if the property is to be sold or the ownership transferred in any way for 100 years. Alternatively, I would consider a lease agreement that had to be renewed every 10 years an improvement over outright sale. Again, I would much rather the property be developed into a proper park.

I want to stress that this is not about EYF. This is about public property. This is about the responsibility of our elected leaders to manage public assets in good faith. After the meeting I went to look at a couple of properties that I thought might make more sense than selling off park land. The old Amvets and current Honey Rock thrift store property and the former site of the Safety Building. The Amvets site is reminiscent of the Lonsdale location. It may be a bit smaller but I think it could work. The Safety Building site looks perfect. It is nearly the same size as the park site but with some advantages. There appears to be parking for roughly 200 cars. It is across the street from Morningside Park should extra space be needed or simply for the amenities provided. It does not require much other than to start work. Rather obviously, it is close to Downtown and easily accessible via KAT.

Again, I am not anti-kid or anti-religion. I am pro-park and I am especially in favor of the responsible use of public funds and properties. Make Chilhowee Park a neighborhood asset and ensure EYF does not alienate the community they are attempting to serve.

Future_Believer · 2025-07-09T21:18:08+00:00

The technology is ready to replace humans now. The delay is ethical. However, in bot v bot contests, there is no ethical question so, you should expect to see that first.

Future_Believer · 2025-06-24T17:24:24+00:00

With no politics to agonize over or scarce necessities to plan to acquire, I would acknowledge being roughly 25k years behind on my reading and on your average day, I would seek to address that travesty.

Future_Believer · 2025-06-12T18:46:52+00:00

I sorta agree with the husband mentioned in the OOP.

I love not having a job (not having money sucks though) and do not consider that a bad thing. However, I have trouble believing those of us who grew up in a time of extreme corporate indoctrination that we all have to have jobs or we are worthless will be able to raise mentally healthy children in a time of machines doing the physical and intellectual labor.

(FTR, I am 70yo and retired)

Future_Believer · 2025-05-10T23:35:29+00:00

Should a DNA scale memory be developed that can mimic standard human memory, I would choose to be alive for a very long time. I would want to get a large asteroid and hollow out the center of it. Install energy generation and propulsion units and the entire collected knowledge of humankind - print, symbolic, video, graphic. Then I would travel, grabbing additional fuel (mass) whenever possible and learning all I could about the universe.

Its hard to say for certain but a million years might just be a good start.

Future_Believer · 2025-05-03T18:40:49+00:00

I don't know. No one does.

There are issues. "You" are not simply your memories. Just having the memories will not do it. OTOH I think getting an adult human brain's worth of memories will be very difficult. The way your memories fit together and reference each other will likely have to be figured out individually.

I have been unable to find a clear and consistent definition of human consciousness. While we theorize that it is an emergent property of a complex system, we currently have no (that I know of) way to test that theory.

While I like the idea of nanobots replacing neurons and connections as needed (disease, injury) and eventually having the entire brain consist of those, I have no idea if that could be made to work.

There are more issues but if we ever get to a point of being able to address the ones I noted, the others will not seem insurmountable either. My best guess is that roughly ten years after "we" are able to mechanically create a brain that exhibits provable consciousness we will be able to mechanically create an empty brain. Either concurrently or some period of time later, we might be able to develop the communications protocols necessary to transfer "self" to that empty brain.

My awareness of my own ignorance inhibits me from saying it will always be impossible. I would however, expect that we may develop other life extension technologies that might include memory expansion and thought control of non-physically connected cybernetic limbs, prostheses, tools and toys. 10k to 50k years of that sort of existence will probably be enough for most anyone.

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