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Old 2011-08-26, 12:52   Link #16101
synaesthetic
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Neat, but otherwise not that useful. What's more interesting to me is that it's orbiting a neutron star so closely and so rapidly. I wonder if it's orbit is stable--if it's not, it'll eventually crash into the pulsar and be destroyed/absorbed.
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Old 2011-08-26, 13:05   Link #16102
Ithekro
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With such a dense world and a pulsar, one wonders what other, more unique, elements and compounds might be around there. But it is 4,000 light years away.
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Old 2011-08-26, 13:52   Link #16103
DonQuigleone
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Gold isn't going to be the first metal to run low, the first ones are going to be certain rare earth elements, that are currently heavily used in electronics. They may become far more valuable then gold, ultimately.
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Old 2011-08-26, 13:57   Link #16104
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
Gold isn't going to be the first metal to run low, the first ones are going to be certain rare earth elements, that are currently heavily used in electronics. They may become far more valuable then gold, ultimately.
1. i agree that gold won't be the first metal to run low. Any shortage in supply is going to come form people hoarding it.

2. rare earth elements isn't that rare. just very dirty to extract. if the US and Europe are willing to tear up their environmental regulations, then they won't need China to supply them.
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Old 2011-08-26, 14:16   Link #16105
DonQuigleone
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Originally Posted by Xellos-_^ View Post
2. rare earth elements isn't that rare. just very dirty to extract. if the US and Europe are willing to tear up their environmental regulations, then they won't need China to supply them.
This part of wikipedia (with reference to US geological survey) disagrees. Though we're pretty much on the same page anyway.

A lot of metals are going to run out soon, and we're either going to have to dig deeper, or find some other way to mine metals in space...

Gold I don't see being a huge problem due to the large quantities held in reserves. Diamonds will be (relatively) worthless soon.
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Old 2011-08-26, 16:32   Link #16106
DonQuigleone
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Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Resigns

Honestly, can they not keep a PM for longer then a year? How are they expecting anything to get done...
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Old 2011-08-26, 17:41   Link #16107
Vexx
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Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Resigns

Honestly, can they not keep a PM for longer then a year? How are they expecting anything to get done...
We used to make fun of the Italians for having a government a month.... seriously, it is just making it that much more transparent to the voters that the "administration"/"party in power" is just makeup for the intransigent glacial civil bureaucracy which is just barely accountable to anyone.
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Old 2011-08-26, 18:08   Link #16108
Irenicus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
We used to make fun of the Italians for having a government a month.... seriously, it is just making it that much more transparent to the voters that the "administration"/"party in power" is just makeup for the intransigent glacial civil bureaucracy which is just barely accountable to anyone.
Well, DPJ did try, rather unsuccessfully, at carrying out its campaign promise to weaken the bureaucracy in favor of the politicians in the Diet. But Hatoyama and DPJ wasted their momentum tangled in the Okinawa issue trying to carry out another perhaps even more difficult promise.

From that perspective Kan, a relatively uncharismatic traditional politician, is always a short term solution put in after Hatoyama because he was the most influential DPJ politician who's not Ozawa. His power is not of the people's mandate, but political cliques; it is more or less the traditional LDP kind of power and thus he has no tools, nor perhaps even motivation, to challenge the bureaucracy in a way that a more popular prime minister could. His going out in this manner was a matter of when, not if. That he was not exactly successful as a crisis leader only hastened the inevitable.

Ironically enough the consequences of the relative failure of the DPJ experiment is only mitigated because the bureaucracy is so entrenched and unconcerned by dictates from politicians. "The trains run on time" no matter what (though at some point the clock gets wonky and no one has the power to wind it properly, pressure builds up, cogs get crushed, and eventually things go boom).

I'm aware of the corrupt and incestuous nature of such an arrangement and the danger it entails; but it's an extreme I sometimes wish for, not seriously mind, whenever I see the American system of government constantly under siege by far right populist extremists here.
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Old 2011-08-26, 18:56   Link #16109
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
This part of wikipedia (with reference to US geological survey) disagrees. Though we're pretty much on the same page anyway.

A lot of metals are going to run out soon, and we're either going to have to dig deeper, or find some other way to mine metals in space...

Gold I don't see being a huge problem due to the large quantities held in reserves. Diamonds will be (relatively) worthless soon.
Notice how the last element on this list, iron (with scarcity at a 50 years horizon), is also the Earth Crust 4th major component, meaning: this list only tells us for how the currently known reserves will last using current technologies.
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Old 2011-08-26, 19:19   Link #16110
DonQuigleone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMvS View Post
Notice how the last element on this list, iron (with scarcity at a 50 years horizon), is also the Earth Crust 4th major component, meaning: this list only tells us for how the currently known reserves will last using current technologies.
The nature of mining is such that it doesn't matter that Iron is quite common, the problem is finding concentrated Ore seams, which are considerably rarer. Even your average rock outside contains Iron, but not in high enough concentrations to be easily exploited.

That said, you are correct that more reserves may get discovered in the future. Also, a lot of these things can be recycled quite cheaply as well...
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Old 2011-08-26, 20:34   Link #16111
andyjay729
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Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil View Post
Astronomers discover planet made of diamond

Will it be valuable enough to start a new space race?

hmm, you can calculate the mass by the gravitational force, and you can tell it is made of carbon by some spectrum analysis most likely. How do you tell the size of the thing to calculate the density?
Best reaction quotes from that story: "DeBeers is already on the way," and "They should name it Planet Zsa Zsa."
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Old 2011-08-26, 20:36   Link #16112
Vexx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Irenicus View Post

I'm aware of the corrupt and incestuous nature of such an arrangement and the danger it entails; but it's an extreme I sometimes wish for, not seriously mind, whenever I see the American system of government constantly under siege by far right populist extremists here.
Most people (including myself) would put up with many forms of government and more or less say in matters - if the government and industrial sector actually GOT THINGS DONE and "made the trains run on time", make sure people have jobs, that the system flowed. So yes, I'd rather have Japan's problems than our dangerously inept but greedy circus of the insane.
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Old 2011-08-26, 21:12   Link #16113
DonQuigleone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
Most people (including myself) would put up with many forms of government and more or less say in matters - if the government and industrial sector actually GOT THINGS DONE and "made the trains run on time", make sure people have jobs, that the system flowed. So yes, I'd rather have Japan's problems than our dangerously inept but greedy circus of the insane.
I don't know, Japan has been in the economic doldrums for the last 20 years, I don't really think their system has worked particularly well. Further more Japan is the most indebted country in the world, with most of that debt being owed to it's own citizens, if the government of Japan imploded, the ramifications for the country would be disastrous. This is seeming pretty likely to me as, short of striking oil, Japan has no real way of bringing in more revenues, so it will just continue down this debt spiral.

By contrast, while America may be a bit messed up, at least it isn't stagnant. The problems of the USA are not nearly as intractable as Japan's.

If you were to ask me, I'd say the Japanese government has done a pretty job, both the politicians AND the bureaucrats.
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Old 2011-08-26, 21:12   Link #16114
andyjay729
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Originally Posted by Irenicus View Post
Well, DPJ did try, rather unsuccessfully, at carrying out its campaign promise to weaken the bureaucracy in favor of the politicians in the Diet. But Hatoyama and DPJ wasted their momentum tangled in the Okinawa issue trying to carry out another perhaps even more difficult promise.

From that perspective Kan, a relatively uncharismatic traditional politician, is always a short term solution put in after Hatoyama because he was the most influential DPJ politician who's not Ozawa. His power is not of the people's mandate, but political cliques; it is more or less the traditional LDP kind of power and thus he has no tools, nor perhaps even motivation, to challenge the bureaucracy in a way that a more popular prime minister could. His going out in this manner was a matter of when, not if. That he was not exactly successful as a crisis leader only hastened the inevitable.

Ironically enough the consequences of the relative failure of the DPJ experiment is only mitigated because the bureaucracy is so entrenched and unconcerned by dictates from politicians. "The trains run on time" no matter what (though at some point the clock gets wonky and no one has the power to wind it properly, pressure builds up, cogs get crushed, and eventually things go boom).

I'm aware of the corrupt and incestuous nature of such an arrangement and the danger it entails; but it's an extreme I sometimes wish for, not seriously mind, whenever I see the American system of government constantly under siege by far right populist extremists here.
I'd wager that the reason you don't see too much overtly political anime and you don't hear much about seiyuus' political views is because they're just so disgusted and frustrated with "the system" in Japan. After over 50 years of domination by one party, the Japanese have found out that the guy to replace all that was just another by-the-book party hack. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, etc. I'm starting to feel the same about Obama myself; heck, most politicians in general.

About those "far-right populist extremists here"; I'm not gonna pull a Godwin and call them terrorists or Nazis, but they are absolutely STUPID sheep who've been suckered into supporting the big-government right-wingers who have both clogged our government and kept America's trains from running on time. It's kinda sad when you recall that the Tea Party movement was originally founded to support Ron Paul. (Say what you will about him, as Vexx pointed out earlier, he's one of the few Republicans out there who actually support REAL small government as opposed to corporate welfare and the military-industrial complex.) And now Bushie protege Rick Perry is reaching out to the Tea Partiers, he's leading GOP polls, and Pubbies are calling Paul a nutjob at best and an evil sodomite "liberaltarian" at worst. Meanwhile Perry is soliciting advice from former Bush aide (and Project for a New American Century signatory) Douglas Feith.

The Tea Party revolution has eaten its children, like Saturn and the French Revolution. Or maybe I should say the children have eaten their father.

Last edited by andyjay729; 2011-08-26 at 21:37.
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Old 2011-08-26, 21:27   Link #16115
SaintessHeart
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Resigns

Honestly, can they not keep a PM for longer then a year? How are they expecting anything to get done...
Well Japan is female and considered a never-aging kuudere chick, so expect her to change her pads regularly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
Most people (including myself) would put up with many forms of government and more or less say in matters - if the government and industrial sector actually GOT THINGS DONE and "made the trains run on time", make sure people have jobs, that the system flowed. So yes, I'd rather have Japan's problems than our dangerously inept but greedy circus of the insane.
You should come and live in Singapore. The sardine cans trains run on time, people have barely sufficient income from their jobs, and the government barely get things done and spend more time resting on their laurels.

Even if the system flows, it must be liquid. No matter how sweet honey is, it is still less viscous and flows less efficiently than sugar water. And given how concentrated it is, you'd get diabetes.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
I don't know, Japan has been in the economic doldrums for the last 20 years, I don't really think their system has worked particularly well. Further more Japan is the most indebted country in the world, with most of that debt being owed to it's own citizens, if the government of Japan imploded, the ramifications for the country would be disastrous. This is seeming pretty likely to me as, short of striking oil, Japan has no real way of bringing in more revenues, so it will just continue down this debt spiral.
The problem is that Japan puts too much emphasis on social order and normalcy that it becomes difficult for young minds with fresh ideas to take the lead.

Take a look at Nico Douga and Pixiv - all those creative minds would have better served society if they are encouraged to work and think outside of the box rather than just following those implied terms of society. Then again, such a "social order" is prevalent of Asian states; there isn't much that could have been done anyway.
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Old 2011-08-26, 21:52   Link #16116
DonQuigleone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SaintessHeart View Post
The problem is that Japan puts too much emphasis on social order and normalcy that it becomes difficult for young minds with fresh ideas to take the lead.

Take a look at Nico Douga and Pixiv - all those creative minds would have better served society if they are encouraged to work and think outside of the box rather than just following those implied terms of society. Then again, such a "social order" is prevalent of Asian states; there isn't much that could have been done anyway.
Indeed, I often see such great fresh ideas coming out of Anime, so obviously the people are there, but I can't help but think that most of these people are stuck in fringe areas (like making anime...).

Perhaps Japan is becoming a bit of a gerontocracy. It needs a blast of fresh ideas and new blood. It has all the knowledge base required to be truly great, but unfortunately the institutional rot goes the whole way through the system.

By contrast, the rot in America is much more concentrated at the top, and I'd say much easier to deal with.

Perhaps societies do best when faced with adversity. Arguably the seeds of Japan's triumphs were planted in the hardships of the post WW2 years, when they had to innovate to have any hope. Japan used to be at the forefront, but it seems right now they are stuck in a state of stagnancy. Japanese haven't managed to be at the forefront of the tech race in anything for the past 5 or 10 years. Remember the 90s, when Japan even in it's post bubble economy, still produced the world's game consoles, still had the leading car industry, still were world leaders in micro electronics. They still have some top class companies, but I can't help but think they've let the initiative pass back to the US and Europe.

I hope Japan can bounce back.
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Old 2011-08-26, 22:06   Link #16117
ganbaru
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Thousands march anew against Syria's Assad, 2 killed
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...77P12M20110827
Thing go bad when you see a day with only 2 killed as a quiet day...
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Old 2011-08-26, 23:10   Link #16118
yezhanquan
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Originally Posted by SaintessHeart View Post

You should come and live in Singapore. The sardine cans trains run on time, people have barely sufficient income from their jobs, and the government barely get things done and spend more time resting on their laurels.
My advice: Get a job that doesn't require you to travel using sardine cans (They exist; I'm in one now), and pays relatively well (same for my job). As for getting things done, engage them only if you need to.
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Old 2011-08-26, 23:38   Link #16119
andyjay729
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http://news.yahoo.com/2-million-orde...212056071.html

Really, don't mess around if you live in this area. GET THE HELL OUT!!! And that goes for my relatives in NC too.
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Old 2011-08-27, 00:47   Link #16120
SaintessHeart
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
Indeed, I often see such great fresh ideas coming out of Anime, so obviously the people are there, but I can't help but think that most of these people are stuck in fringe areas (like making anime...).

Perhaps Japan is becoming a bit of a gerontocracy. It needs a blast of fresh ideas and new blood. It has all the knowledge base required to be truly great, but unfortunately the institutional rot goes the whole way through the system.

By contrast, the rot in America is much more concentrated at the top, and I'd say much easier to deal with.

Perhaps societies do best when faced with adversity. Arguably the seeds of Japan's triumphs were planted in the hardships of the post WW2 years, when they had to innovate to have any hope. Japan used to be at the forefront, but it seems right now they are stuck in a state of stagnancy. Japanese haven't managed to be at the forefront of the tech race in anything for the past 5 or 10 years. Remember the 90s, when Japan even in it's post bubble economy, still produced the world's game consoles, still had the leading car industry, still were world leaders in micro electronics. They still have some top class companies, but I can't help but think they've let the initiative pass back to the US and Europe.

I hope Japan can bounce back.
It is not all rot at the top for US. There are a few politicians here and there who try to make things win-win for everyone, but they are simply far and between or treated like trash by their own parties, or even worse, being maligned by opposition and detractors.

As for Japan, if not for Futennma and the US 7th Fleet, the threat from China would have transformed them into something akin to "The Road to Serfdom" by Von Hayek. They would be another military power - akin with greater technological ability than the US and Chinese. Nuts like Ishihara would have gained power easily and send young men to their deaths.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yezhanquan View Post
My advice: Get a job that doesn't require you to travel using sardine cans (They exist; I'm in one now), and pays relatively well (same for my job). As for getting things done, engage them only if you need to.
I am not worried about now because I am still living quite comfortably (thanks to my otaku hobbies - I don't spend alot by drinking and clubbing unlike peers of my age), but rather, I am worried about the future.

Earning $1,300 and saving $1,000 just doesn't cut it in the long run if the inflation doesn't subside by next year June - I have already put off my second year in uni to shore up living funds. Market data is disturbing at best - if China doesn't come clean on their accounts, AND that Malaysia doesn't fix their budget deficit, we could have another Asian Financial Crisis by 2013/2014, coupled with a possible double-dip recession in the US.

Sardine cans don't fix themselves - the government has to put temporary tariffs on petrol imports, 200% COE prices to get private cars off the road. With an increased rate of public transportation alternative to the train, the public can move much easier. If anyone is going to complain, then "subsidise" Singpost, the public transport system and a few taxi companies temporarily so as to ease up the roads.

Mind you, there are a number of my peers who are wanting to become parents, but unable to do so or even get a decent house to live in. I am glad I am single, but probably not in 10 years because I would want a couple of lolis then, one which would call me "Honey" and another to call me "Daddy".
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Most of all, you have to be disciplined and you have to save, even if you hate our current financial system. Because if you don't save, then you're guaranteed to end up with nothing.
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