benjymous wrote: Is that the half of the world where the bunnies carrying chocolate eggs live? :-D A secret world... (it gets 38 google hits!) Have fun, Paul Westcott.

I hate the term Western Hemisphere; it just doesn't make any sence. Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere do, because you can come to a point where going in a straight line no longer takes you north (or south) - but the same can't be said for going West... (A quick search of google comes up with 224,000 uses for "Western Hemisphere" and only 15,600 for "Easter Hemisphere"...) is it an attempt at being more politcally correct than "Western World" (google hits 327,000 - I think this makes more sence because it is more conceptual; although still not actually correct I guess) and "Eastern World" (9,240 google hits, doesn't sound correct)... Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Tom Archer wrote: I just disagree that it should be talked about as though it's such a traumatic experience Why shouldn't it be a traumatic experience? That's what I'm saying. If it wasn't a traumatic experience then it wouldn't be a problem; if you see what I mean. Like have you not in relation to your book writting, at least at some point, maybe only on your first book, thought(worried) that other people were not going to like it? Or, have you ever done public speaking and felt some terror? In some ways I'm sure that being exposed on secretly filmed footage is somewhat similar - except for the fact that you didn't put yourself up for it, and thus haven't mentally prepared yourself. You are suddenly exposed to other people, and that is traumatic. "well since, my friend, you have exposed your greatest fear, I sentence you to be exposed before your peers!" not sure if I have got that quote exactly correct (from The Wall by Pink Floyd) Tom Archer wrote: I'm not exactly going to stay up nights worrying about it. I'm in totally agreement on that point! Have fun, Paul Westcott.

I totally disagree. I think we all have the right to privacy, and I think it is a psychologically affecting event. Ok, getting changed mightn't seem like a problem to you - but why then are there changing room? Do you close the door when you have a shower? Do you close the toilet door when you go for a crap? And if you do do any of these, then why? I think there can be psycological damage from people secretely videoing you, and then you finding out. I think that there are things that we save for special people to see (whether it's the uptight banker who becomes silly when he's playing games with children, or if it's the woman who has 'saved herself' for marriage.) Keeping things in is part of who we are, and although we might be able to overcome them, I don't think that should necessarily be easy. Have fun, Paul Westcott.

But weren't there all kinds of problems (as in not nice like e=mc^2) when quantum and relativity were attempted to be reconciled with each other? Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Richard Stringer wrote: Actually it is just the opposite. The more you look the simplier it gets. At some level its almost homogenious with a single explanation . Thats the Holy Grail of physics. To find that explanation. But, like the real grail, is it impossible to find? I mean I'm not saying that we should give up trying, but just that the edges might get fuzzier and fuzzier... Like going to the model with atoms made from protons, neutrons and electrons was simplier than having different types of fundamental elements, but then we have gone beyong that to quite a number of sub-atomic particles... Neutons laws were simplier than when you get to high speeds or miniscules quantities... What I said about it being fractal just seems to have a ring of truth in my mind (but it might just be a warped mind!) Like looking at the mandlebrot set from a distance you have a nice easy to understand shape (like Neutons laws) but drill down and then you find that you have more pattern there than you thought (Relativity, Quantum...) As I said, it should disuade us from trying to understand it all, but I do think its impossible. But the search is the fun part... Have fun, Paul Westcott.

I find the biggest puzzle in where do you think? Ok, we think in our brains. Fine. But why does that have a sense of self? Why does that exists? You know your alive. Fine. But why? Nishant S wrote: It’s a sad reflection on the irrational nature of human beings that despite so much advances in our awareness of the universe, the majority of people on this planet believe in some kind of all powerful god or gods. No, I think it's just a constant search, and no matter what science comes up with there will always be more questions. The universe in some ways appears to be fractal like, the closer you look the more detail you get. Ok, we knew of atoms, and then we knew of protons, neutrons, electrons and then we knew of quarks and other sub-atomic particles... Maybe we can get to the bottom of it; maybe we can't. A belief in a god makes a lot of people happy (ok, it makes some people crazy and do stupid things, but I think in general it creates more peace and solace for people). I still puzzle most about where do you think? Have fun, Paul Westcott.

But his ramble yesterday seemed so... Ummm... composed. like he knew he was taking the piss... His old rambles; well I just got more of the feeling that he really had no clue about the way he acted. Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Is there such an RFC? Looking at RFC index on http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/rfcietf.htm it appears that the highest RFC is 3295 ??? Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Chris Losinger wrote: quick, show me one person reading this who has any effect at all on the trade policy of the US or any other country. We all do, as voters. If we didn't believe that, then we don't believe we are living in a democracy. (Well I assume most people that use this are living under a democratic system.) Have fun, Paul Westcott.

1 TFLOPS is a term for a trillion floating-point operations per second."Tera" is a prefix for one trillion (ten raised to the twelfth power),"giga" for one billion (ten raised to the tenth power). I would have giga as (10^9 == billion)?? no?? Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Hmmm. I think circumstance can also lead people to do things that they don't desire. Because despiration for other things can cause people to act in strange ways - whether it been from drugs (to mention a movie (which I know isn't exactly the best source of real information, but it illustrates the point) Requiem for a Dream (which if you haven't seen, you should) one of our main characters ends up performing lesbian sexual acts with an audience. Potentially real or just a fake situation? I think potentially real; I have seen the craving of acquantances who have a heroin habit. So the next question is did she have latent lesbian desires? I don't believe this would have to be the case.) Now, a more sane example, coming back to the original question. A farmer whos family have been on the land for generations. Running short of cash, has to artifically inseminate his pigs because he can't afford to get a stud in (ok, he's not jacking an animal off, but we're still in the bounds of what is potentially bestiality). Did he have to have had a natural tendency towards bestiality? No I don't think so (well he might have of course!), I think other things (such as putting food on the table for his wife and kids) can have an overriding affect on the situation. I think humans are amazingly complex creatures, and I don't think you have to necessarily have an original drive in you to make you do things. I think situations can force people into doing things that they just would never have done - not just because they were ashamed of what society would think. Now maybe in a middle class area, where dealing only with middle class people, with no crime and perfect weather then your argument holds ground. But that just isn't how the world is. Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Wow. But your agument really amounts to nothing, as (basically) every job equates to money which gives gratification in that it can be exchanged for basically anything else. Jeremy Falcon wrote: BTW, discrete mathematics doesn’t impress me. I didn't think that it would. Have fun, Paul Westcott.

You seem to have totally changed what you are talking about... Same thing with beating off a bull. Sure, someone's gotta do it, but it's the ones that don't "mind" as much that are willing. If there wasn't something to justify it with (i.e.; science) then they may not normally do it because of the social pressure. You (well to my untrained eye) appear to be saying that the farmer who has to artifically inseminate a bull is not doing it for the purposes of making money, but rather as some fantasy?!?!?! And then you seem to change what you are talking about totally in this article to somewhere between justifying the American version of demoncracy... Just for the record, my logic is superb Glad to hear it - I'm just glad you weren't my lecturer for discrete matematics... Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Jeremy Falcon wrote: Sure, someone's gotta do it, but it's the ones that don't "mind" as much that are willing. If there wasn't something to justify it with (i.e.; science) then they may not normally do it because of the social pressure. Wow. Good logic. I mean I'm sure garbage collectors would be rummaging through rubbish if it wasn't their jobs too... Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Michel Prévost wrote: If car were software, there would be about 10000000000 crashes a day. I think I would go by foot (And I'm not sure I would be safe either crossing an intersection will all those 10000-features cars waiting for green light ). If cars were software we would be driving at about 10000000000 km/h by now... (and continually doubling ever year and a half...) Have fun, Paul Westcott.

So how long until governments ban games? Have fun, Paul Westcott.

As long as they provide some beer (or similar) and some good conversation I don't mind. What comes around goes around as they say (or "what you gain on the roundabout you lose on the swing"...) If it's people I don't know and they just want me to come in and fix the problem then to me that's a contract and I'll charge - which once again I don't mind, and I can but think that they shouldn't mind. I mean if I knew of a friend-of-a-friend who was a good mechanic, I would put my car in with them (as pay them the appropriate rates) because I trust through the friend that they are better than just some smuch I usually end up with taking my car too... Have fun, Paul Westcott.

Skippy I think it was. Name of a children's TV show about a kangaroo of that name... (also used as a term for Australian's, not particularly flattering, but an Australian won't mind as long as you buy them another beer...) Have fun, Paul Westcott.

I remember one of his last experiments where he was trying to determine what went into belly-button fluff... He had people send in samples... Had people say if their belly-buttons were hairy or not to determine if that caught more fluff... etc. etc. Great stuff... You can listen to his show on the web at triplej I can't remember when his show's on? I think it's 10am Australian Eastern Standards time (Look up worldtime to find out when that is! Good radio station. I like the breakfast guys - well I did, think that are still there... Haven't listened for AGES.... Have fun, Paul Westcott.