BingoBoingo: <asciilifeform> BingoBoingo: many things are not sold now. e.g., passenger cars with more than 5 or so years of life in'em << There are ways to squeeze more life out of them, but the horrors plasticar (model year 2003) has been through...
mircea_popescu: http://pastebin.com/4BcycXUu << i dunno if anyone actually gives a shit, but for those curious to see how the huddling-in-the-dark half lives...
asciilifeform: (this is not coincidence, but rather how long it takes the typical schmuck to pay off the credit for the thing)
BingoBoingo: It is impossible to buy new small trucks in the United States because they simply aren't sold anymore. Sure you can buy used, but the used ones are only being sold because the previous owners either wrung all the life they could out of them or they are stupid.
trinque: This sort of hipsterism is native to Portland. If someone's rich, they're the self-deprecating kind of rich that winks at the camera while decrying the evils of money
BingoBoingo: asciilifeform: Maybe when he was writing, but this problem like many other prophetic Orwell things materialized in another form. Like a shannonizer from hell that takes Orwell's words and spews an output into USian reality.
assbot: Logged on 16-02-2014 03:57:29; asciilifeform: "On the far side of the room, sitting at a table alone, a small, curiously beetle-like man was drinking a cup of coffee, his little eyes darting suspicious glances from side to side. How easy it was, thought Winston, if you did not look about you, to believe that the physical type set up by the Party as an ideal-tall muscular youths and deep-bosomed maidens, blond-haired, vital, sunburnt, carefree - e
trinque: The great mass of human beings are not acutely selfish. << from the essay; Orwell seemed to have a deep love of the beoble. If only all these selfish elites would get out of the way, the selflessness of the common man would shine through.
BingoBoingo: <asciilifeform> 'It is forbidden to dream again; / We maim our joys or hide them: / Horses are made of chromium steel / And little fat men shall ride them.' << Oh he was writing about Today's luxury mega trucks that could tow 12,000 pounds but instead ferry 400 pounder to their daily McBeetus run
asciilifeform: 'It is forbidden to dream again; / We maim our joys or hide them: / Horses are made of chromium steel / And little fat men shall ride them.'
mircea_popescu: ambitions were mixed up with the feeling of being isolated and undervalued."
mircea_popescu: "I was the middle child of three, but there was a gap of five years on either side, and I barely saw my father before I was eight. For this and other reasons I was somewhat lonely, and I soon developed disagreeable mannerisms which made me unpopular throughout my schooldays. I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my literary
asciilifeform: that way folks wouldn't perforate bumper in the night
assbot: Logged on 27-05-2015 18:05:40; ascii_field: i keep pet. other people, if they like, can keep livestock
mircea_popescu: (which is why people fuck their secretaries. you really can't be any good unless intimately acquainted)
asciilifeform: the arse is long.
asciilifeform: he did not often stoop to answering the tards, but sometimes could not avoid.
asciilifeform: i was recently enjoying an anthology of the collected personal correspondence of n. tesla
asciilifeform: they had this!
mircea_popescu: they exchange pictures and isn't it adorable what did the mean people say blablabla.
mircea_popescu: IN THEOIR GARAGE
asciilifeform: we are perhaps at the level of ampere and faraday, analogously, but nowhere near maxwell.
mircea_popescu: that there's so precious little intellectual effort dedicated to the topic is prolly the saddest manifest of a dead culture.
mircea_popescu: but anyway, there seems no possible question that the nakamoto paper is a (tenuous) footbridge rather than any sort of wall.
mircea_popescu: orwell for that matter displays it plainly, which is among the few facts pleading in favour of his intelligence.
asciilifeform: what's mircea_popescu's corner? economitronics of the 1880s ?
mircea_popescu: i think anyone with a serious interest in human thought has a corner they use just in that manner you describe.
asciilifeform: at any rate, the matter prior to heaviside nailing down maxwell's eqs to their modern form (maxwell had 20 eqs in that many unknowns!),
asciilifeform: (at the time, 'electrician' meant roughly what 'solid state physicist' means today, but minus the derpatronic aspect)
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: all of this reminds me of a secret pleasure of mine - reading 'electrician' scientific publications from the era of heaviside
mircea_popescu: there's possibly a third item too.
mircea_popescu: i think ironically the "basic bitcoin" exercise has illustrated we're not yet in a theoretically-complete position. damned close but not there.
BingoBoingo: Incidently the whistle pig is the only animal model available for studying the Hepatitis B virus other than chimpanzees
asciilifeform: there is a long student tradition of writing 'quines', programs which display themselves.
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: ask the 'coq' folks
mircea_popescu: asciilifeform incidentally, is there an academiwank dedicated to programs that prove properties of themselves ?
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: it has to be touched, somehow. because the notion is doomed to come into play
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: 'a'+'c' - 'what facts can or cannot be mathematically proven about a computer program? and when?'
mircea_popescu: i thought all southern dishes that are fried are fried in groundhog fat.
BingoBoingo: <asciilifeform> BingoBoingo: who needs catfish when you can eat cat! in shenzen! << I've heard rumours that the groundhog crop has been excellent this year
BingoBoingo: <mircea_popescu> catfish is shockingly not much eaten here. << If they are too big to eat (i.e. Mississippi river) still ought to be fished for the challenge.
mircea_popescu: but the frogs were passible.
BingoBoingo: mircea_popescu: Also how are the catfish in Río de la Plata? Probably ought to check that out before leaving hardware B-A
mircea_popescu: students are bums ever since they were invented.
asciilifeform: i'm not certain the target clientele ~have~ any money..?
Adlai has found an expert... retires to the UNObtainium mines
mircea_popescu: mike_c honestly i suspek your intuition is certainly correct. more money to be made teaching this than 90% of the stuff taught online. "be a better you" or w/e.
mircea_popescu: asciilifeform and im passing on the next 2, they're nice but more in a "basic guide to being a gentleman scholar in 2015"
BingoBoingo: <mircea_popescu> asciilifeform the reason rawls is in there is because it gives perhaps the best approach for average derp to touch his derpitude. the reasoin no discussion of scamming is in economy is because i do not believe it is in there. << belongs in Biology
mircea_popescu: Adlai : i am an expert in the english language.
mircea_popescu: 2. sybil. the purpose is irrelevant. all mitm is a degenberate case of sybil.
asciilifeform: (the purpose of a sybil is not necessarily to deceive the victim into transacting with a known party through it)
mircea_popescu: there's been more than one case of people who'd have been much better served through tutoring than trying to drink from the river here.
mircea_popescu: * Adlai assumes the business model would be "pay us to troll you gentlyer" << for srs.
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: that's rather like saying that locust is not an agriculturally-relevant organism, no ?
assbot: Logged on 25-08-2015 01:18:04; mircea_popescu: lemme see if anything occurs. ima keep it open for a little bit see if i become suddenly unhappy with b overnight, then ima set it in stone an' give out some symbolic prizes for first completors.
mircea_popescu: asciilifeform the reason rawls is in there is because it gives perhaps the best approach for average derp to touch his derpitude. the reasoin no discussion of scamming is in economy is because i do not believe it is in there.
gribble: The operation succeeded.
BingoBoingo: ;;later tell pete_dushenski You're the car guy. Any thoughs on compact pickup trucks with crazy lift kits?
assbot: China’s ghost towns point to nation’s waning fortunes - The Washington Post ... ( http://bit.ly/1JROJeO )
pete_dushenski: via https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-hard-hit-rust-belt-reflects-the-countrys-economic-woes/2015/08/24/d5d82752-45bf-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html
pete_dushenski: http://log.bitcoin-assets.com/?date=24-08-2015#1250565 << "At state-owned companies, workers say fewer shifts means their monthly pay has fallen from up to 5,000 yuan ($780) two years ago to more like 2,000 now."
asciilifeform: hanbot: i dare say that the concept of idempotence is key re: bitcoin
mike_c: but I don't think there's a ton of patience in here for teaching 101 courses.
mike_c: Adlai: my point wasn't that we're a bunch of geniuses, more that there are better venues to learn something in depth like what is a sybil attack.
Adlai is genuinely curious who here defines themselves an "expert", and in what field... not that nobody can make a valid claim, just... curious
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: i'm trying to form a mental model of the how+why of certain quiz items; for instance, why is rawls in there, but not, e.g, 'describe what is a bucket shop'
Adlai: mike_c: well i guess i should leave then!
hanbot: would help getting the cert first hm
Adlai assumes the business model would be "pay us to troll you gentlyer"
mike_c: there's your syllabus
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: 'd' - 'what is a man-in-the-middle attack'
asciilifeform: Adlai: another more subtle example, see the earlier link today with the 'otp was debunked now!111!!11!' imbecile
mircea_popescu: how "common" something is in principle does not mean it doesn't have to be on the supply list.
asciilifeform: not having to trust someone else to read the scrollz
mircea_popescu: go run in the desert.
asciilifeform: but just about everyone mentally places it in the former
mircea_popescu: (one will note that the arithmetic basic is in pm economy too - the original way to lose your coinz was to not know how to count)
asciilifeform: entropy is squarely in the latter class
asciilifeform: srsly designers of microcomps helped to spread the most bizarre misconceptions about what is rare and costly and what is common as shit
mircea_popescu: either < or something. esp <--- is a comment.
mircea_popescu: mike_c did you put < in there ?
mircea_popescu: asciilifeform the one sad result of this exercise is that in fact it turns out a privileged relationship to randomness is an ingredient.
mircea_popescu: Adlai well there isn't a word cause it's new!
mike_c: i mean, this is the long-lost "how do I learn bitcoin"
mircea_popescu: Adlai the opposite of "centrally-issued".
mircea_popescu: lemme see if anything occurs. ima keep it open for a little bit see if i become suddenly unhappy with b overnight, then ima set it in stone an' give out some symbolic prizes for first completors.
asciilifeform: well yes, but ideally folks who are reading this can try the puzzle first, then see the hints
mircea_popescu: the way this test is designed, not only is lying a theft against oneself, as these things usually are - but moreover it leaves a trail and there's something to bitterly regret later.
gribble: Rot13: <http://www.rot13.com/>; ROT13 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROT13>; ROT13 - DeGraeve.com: <http://www.degraeve.com/rot13.php>
Adlai isn't the only one giggling now! yay
mircea_popescu: they'll be fine/
Adlai still thinks there's more at hand than mere than key *generation*
mircea_popescu: and if we ARE stuck with some sort of randomness in there, contrary to my original intuition,
asciilifeform: i do wish that mircea_popescu were right about this, it would make for an interesting mathemagical mindfuck
assbot: RFC 6979 - Deterministic Usage of the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) and Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) ... ( http://bit.ly/1hDtz7U )
BingoBoingo: <mircea_popescu> let me put it in these terms asciilifeform : if you actually need the concept of random to have bitcoin, this reduces to a situationb of "whosoever has priviledged access to random owns bitcoin". << An Vexual has most priviledged access to most random
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: how the fuck can one say 'it functions' if i can divine all of your keys
BingoBoingo: In other news http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/education/organization-withdraws-mu-s-library-science-program-accreditation/article_c7fd93a1-db92-5035-9f29-f31d3408db93.html << The reason was the program's abysmal job placement
mircea_popescu: you don't have to use THE SAME ecc.
Adlai: let's put it this way: either they should pass this (ie, my question); or they should understand 'random'; or i give up and have a little giggle
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: if you can't nondeterministically create the addrs, OR the nonces, you're fucked
mircea_popescu: this as a rule of the universe, not avoidable. perfectly deterministic anything and everything.
mircea_popescu: asciilifeform lemme put it this way : their problem has nothing to do with bitcoin, but with their head.
Adlai: "i do not think you actually have to have the concept of random to have bitcoin" << this actually goes hand-in-hand with my suggestion!
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: without concept of randomness, it is impossible to explain why it is that what the idjits did was idjotic
mircea_popescu: let me put it in these terms asciilifeform : if you actually need the concept of random to have bitcoin, this reduces to a situationb of "whosoever has priviledged access to random owns bitcoin".
Adlai: why? because if they don't, somebody else will.
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: or hard to explain the 'android incident' etc
Adlai: well not literally "say something about ECC"... how about: "given [idiotically-signed] transactions A and B, recover the private key [mis]used in their signatures"
mircea_popescu: i do not think you actually have to have the concept of random to have bitcoin
asciilifeform: it is a very common basic logical mistake among the students.
asciilifeform: 'a' or 'd' - 'describe three mutually-orthogonal notions of 'entropy', and their applications.'
BingoBoingo: <asciilifeform> i won't even touch 'b' << I might work on answering the b problems as they materialize
mircea_popescu: asciilifeform "Discuss perfect forward secrecy, in the broader context of mathematical guarantees."
mircea_popescu: this is what learning is : reading the logs.
Adlai: mircea_popescu: well shit, now any shmuck that reads the logs can do so. sorry bout that...
mircea_popescu: Adlai yes but let the answerer point this out
asciilifeform: where did he say the 'directed' ?
asciilifeform: (schelling's is rather less rigorous of an animal)
asciilifeform: chapter 'c'. 'explain the second-system effect and discuss a well-known case'
asciilifeform: but this is rather like 'don't use division in your proggy because you might divide by zero'
asciilifeform: aha then this.
mircea_popescu: which the underlying function is not ready to handle
asciilifeform: in such a way as to make the above description false
asciilifeform: this was not the scheme intended in this puzzle ?
asciilifeform: the use of multiple ciphersystems, presumably (if operator is not entirely retarded) would be something like 'first aes with key k1, then the output with serpent and key k2, then twofish with k3....' etc
mircea_popescu: but you presume you'd use the same thing.
asciilifeform: (the 'chained ciphers' one)
asciilifeform: i suppose that'd be a hint as to the answer, wouldntit
asciilifeform: though how did b-3 end up there ?
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu is hands-down the part 'b' lecturer, aha
asciilifeform: mathematics. 'what is a trapdoor function?'
mircea_popescu: especially re the math and cs.
asciilifeform: pete_dushenski: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0816/7387/products/RigaSpratsAdro160g_large.jpeg?v=1428892909 << them
asciilifeform: pete_dushenski: rigs is a holy place to me, but only for so long as the golden little tins keep a'comin'
mircea_popescu: just - the broad scheme should be visible, so might as well share.
assbot: Logged on 24-08-2015 17:27:24; mircea_popescu: it was originally interesting, "check it out, the kitsch version of us collapse, 20 years early" but eventually one has enough.
pete_dushenski: http://log.bitcoin-assets.com/?date=24-08-2015#1250283 << there's always, say, istria, riga, or montreal
trinque: this aside from the beauty of dealing only in one's WoT
trinque: it is at this point I'll note for the attentive readers that I parse my inputs myself, tyvm
asciilifeform: then nfi.
assbot: Successfully added a rating of 1 for felipelalli with note: therealbitcoin tester
asciilifeform: !rate felipelalli 1 therealbitcoin tester
asciilifeform: felipelalli: you gotta be in l2 to write to the ml.
pete_dushenski: "financially, she benefits from living on a train: The flat-rate ticket costs her about $380, whereas she had to pay about $450 for her previous apartment."
assbot: How one German millennial chose to live on trains rather than pay rent - The Washington Post ... ( http://bit.ly/1hDquVC )
pete_dushenski: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/08/22/how-one-german-millennial-chose-to-live-on-trains-rather-than-pay-rent/ << speaking of 'millenial' living conditions
pete_dushenski: thestringpuller i've only ever migrated a blog from wp to wp
pete_dushenski: thestringpuller hey dude
asciilifeform: ludovic xiv may say 'l'etat c'est moi', but i am not therealbitcoin !
mircea_popescu: <asciilifeform> ;;later tell felipelalli you sent the thing to ~me~ instead of the ml <<< ahahaha epic.
pete_dushenski: the riff-raff they let in wouldn't cut it in any of the high school or junior high productions i was in
felipelalli: asciilifeform, ok, I'm sorry. I did not want to pollute the list.
pete_dushenski: the local production had this 'make accessible' and 'involve whole community' mandate branded on their stupid skulls, with entirely predictable results
asciilifeform: felipelalli: anything pertaining to therealbitcoin
felipelalli: The auth.sh fix?
pete_dushenski: cows with tuning forks up their asses could hold a better tune than golde
felipelalli: asciilifeform, I sent you two things. Which one should I send to the mailing list?
pete_dushenski: ^saw local production of fiddler last night as part of 'the fringe' festival (as was covered in recent contravex reviews). unfortunately, other than a hell of a tevye and a rather lovely hodel, the cast of 45 was unbearably atrocious
gribble: The operation succeeded.
pete_dushenski: keeping me in the stone age eh ?
asciilifeform: 'Indeed imagine a world where messages broadcasted publicly could be recorded. A world where screen shots and web archiving tools can preserve the content of broadcasted messages indefinitely, and where comparing the publication medium to an archived record can reveal otherwise unannounced retractions. In short imagine the real world as it actually is.' << gold
asciilifeform: i fully expect to eat every penny i ever saved, at some point, and then starve.
punkman: asciilifeform: not like there's much left in the retirement funds here, but this is not possible
asciilifeform: it's the one where plantation owner doesn't see any logical reason to give the slave anything to store up
pete_dushenski: the retiree eating out of his savings fund ?
asciilifeform: pete_dushenski: there's precisely one that this doesn't work for
pete_dushenski: anyone in a similar position is henceforth advised that, yes, it's possible to become unstuck from retirement scams that you will never see the proceeds from
pete_dushenski: i had the same 'stuck' in 2013 and i can tell you that it's not the end of the world to unjam
pete_dushenski: sure, there are rules, regs, penalties, and whatever nonsense between you and your 401k bezzlars, but it's not like a little pain and a little friction now isn't a damned reasonable price to pay to avoid a lot of pain and an impossible amount of friction later
asciilifeform: 'millenials' enlisting in some crackpot 'boot camp' and paying for the privilege of receiving the whippings father never gave'em, etc
asciilifeform: 'This place is a prison. Its like living in the Hotel California, except we cant even drink wine here.'
asciilifeform: 'Imagine one day having your bed converted into a bunk bed without your consent. Being promised food to be included in the fee you pay only to be yelled at when the food runs out. Witnessing an ex-military dude marching around the house yelling at people who didnt keep their shit clean enough. '
BingoBoingo: Could be your "theme"
pete_dushenski: BingoBoingo rss likes trilema well enough. and i'll be damned if it's smart enough to tell the difference between mp's jooiness and mine
pete_dushenski: what is this, the future ?
pete_dushenski: why should i expect anything to work out of the box ?
pete_dushenski: BingoBoingo not impossibru, but i really haven't diddled with it. then again, perhaps that's the issue
pete_dushenski: the 'contravex curse'
BingoBoingo: Well pete_dushenski Your blog is the one that tends to send RSS botmakers running screaming
trinque: keeping things alive is the hardest problem
assbot: Logged on 24-08-2015 20:24:27; mircea_popescu: trinque one of the best parts of this entire open experiment thingee is how the rss bot was by far the MOST redone part of all of b-a
trinque: it only listens to me at the moment
assbot: Silicon Valley's 'Startup Castle' is looking for roommates, and the requirements are completely bonkers | Fusion ... ( http://bit.ly/1hDnsAx )
asciilifeform: ( http://fusion.net/story/134163/silicon-valleys-startup-castle-is-looking-for-roommates-and-the-requirements-are-completely-bonkers )
deedbot-: [Contravex: A blog by Pete Dushenski » Contravex: A blog by Pete Dushenski] So what’s a “client” in the Roman sense of the term ? - http://www.contravex.com/2015/08/23/so-whats-a-client-in-the-roman-sense-of-the-term/
asciilifeform: re: the evicted 'castle': 'Do you have a fancy college degree or a job in a STEM field? Do you have fewer than two tattoos? Do you avoid Tinder dates and songs with explicit lyrics? Do you spend more than two hours a day exercising? Then you may be qualified to live at the Startup Castle, a self-proclaimed community of excellence located in a 17,000-square foot mansion in Woodside, California, just minutes from Stanford
gribble: The operation succeeded.
asciilifeform: this is almost as good as the 'monty hall problem' tard-sauce
assbot: Logged on 24-08-2015 22:23:52; mats: http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/16/a-disproof-of-the-one-time-pad lulz
punkman: just saw the trailer for this http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTc4MzIzNTk3Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTYyNzA5NDE@._V1__SX1857_SY851_.jpg
mats: >the three-judge panel upheld U.S. District Judge Esther Salas’ ruling that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the authority under the “unfairness” prong of Section 5 of the FTC Act to bring suit against companies over data security practices.
ben_vulpes: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/55617 << product of the local 'feel good and have bad ideas' woodchipper
mats: TIL kink.com bought The Armory on Mission St
mircea_popescu: (the kink.com armory)
mircea_popescu: mats cool, it could join the armory ?
mats: by no means do I think this is safe, but hey, risk taking is for the young
mats: djia closes another 500 hundred points down
mircea_popescu: same thing as the color test was. or should have been,
mircea_popescu: so random person can score their own proficiency.
assbot: Logged on 15-02-2015 23:29:43; thestringpuller: asciilifeform: random question. If someone paid for you to take Buterin's C4 (Certified Bitcoin Professional) exam, would you do it?
mircea_popescu: "A Certified Bitcoin Professional is knowledgeable about the Bitcoin blockchain, Bitcoin transactions, and how the Bitcoin network operates. CBPs are able to apply Bitcoin technology to their professional area of expertise"
mircea_popescu: Bitcoin Professionals - Looking For Bitcoin Talent? Ad www.cryptoconsortium.org <<< someone got so many "bitcoin professionals" they're paying google to help give them away.
mircea_popescu: like with any other woman.
mircea_popescu: and im very fond of the sea for just as long as the distance between us is my decision.
mircea_popescu: "we found some old tigers and we made them boats!"
mircea_popescu: btw you ever seen their formidable class ?
asciilifeform: not overly fond of the sea, i take it ?
mircea_popescu: i don't live on staten island, either.
mircea_popescu: still with the fucking islands ?
mircea_popescu: they ate your... penis ?
mircea_popescu: as if they ate your dog or something
mircea_popescu: not hot at all. i just picked a random name, cuz some interwebs chick was from there. then you got all immuno-responsive on me.
asciilifeform: (where they make spiffy pcb !)
thestringpuller: asciilifeform: the clockwork orange method i see.
mircea_popescu: anyone remember that retarded chinese satellite launch thing where all the hopped up boys had to report PLAN OVERDELIVERED!!!
thestringpuller: asciilifeform: will the eyes scale? if a lot of cipher text turds are being thrown around you'd have to have a lot of eyes, as I can't imagine this scaling very well.
mircea_popescu: and prepare "rteports" and their granny on a stick.
asciilifeform: mircea_popescu is certain they don't see articles? what kinda spammer uses anything but a fresh ip ?
mircea_popescu: ironically enough, i serve millions of pages/day to various of these idiots, and none yet has managed to observe that they do not get articles.
mircea_popescu: people trying to figure out whence other people get traffic.