The evolution of man

It took tens of thousands of years so that the ancestor of the man becomes a biped. A few hours of catechism or religious instruction have been enough so that it kneels or prosterne, and consequently loses his dignity.
http://atheisme.free.fr/Humour/Evolution_man.htm

Proving a universal negative

A lot of people claim that it is impossible to prove a universal negative. For example, while we may not have evidence that unicorns or dragons exist, we cannot prove that they do not exist. Unless we have a complete knowledge of the universe, we must admit the possibility that somewhere in the universe, there might be such creatures.

But the claim that omniscience is needed to prove a universal negative presumes that the concept which we are discussing is logically coherent. If the attributes which we assign to a hypothetical object or being are self-contradictory, then we can conclude that it /cannot exist/, and therefore /does not exist/. I do not need a complete knowledge of the universe to prove that cubic spheres do not exist. Such objects have mutually-exclusive attributes which make their existence impossible. A cube, by definition, has 8 corners, while a sphere has none. These properties are completely incompatible -- they cannot be held simultaneously by the same object.

Source: http://www.update.uu.se/~fbendz/library/cd_impossible.html

[plug] Humor: Leaked M$ Memo: The Danger of Sharing (fwd)

Community: Leaked MS Memo: The Danger of Sharing

Jul 25, 2004,

by Thad Phetteplace

The following internal memo has leaked from the highest levels of Microsoft and found its way to my desk. Sorry, I can't reveal my sources, but I am sharing it so we can all reach a better understanding of Microsoft's thinking regarding free and open source software. Enjoy. ;)

Title: The Danger of Sharing
Author: An Anonymous Microsoft Executive
Date: November 18, 2003

A dangerous plague is sweeping the land... a plague of sharing. It hides under the the seductive name of 'Free Software' or sometimes 'Open Source', but underneath it is just plain and simple sharing. I've warned the world of this threat on many occasions, but I've discovered my warnings were not broad enough. You see, this evil called sharing is not limited to just software.

You can find signs of it everywhere, along with the economic ruin that follows it. Why just the other day I discovered this place called a 'soup kitchen'. It was providing meals... for free! Just imagine the damage that would be inflicted on the restaurant industry if this soup kitchen thing catches on. The effects could already be seen in that neighborhood; all the other people in the soup line seemed very poor, and there was not a five star restaurant to be found anywhere nearby. I've even seen evidence of this sharing epidemic among our own employees. Just the other day one of the interns brought in muffins and gave them away, you guessed it, for free! Perhaps it would not have been so bad if she had actually purchased them from a bakery, but she actually admitted to baking them herself. She said she enjoyed doing it and was happy to give them away so other people could enjoy them to!

Can you imagine the impact on the bakery industry if this sort of thing catches on! But it doesn't stop there. She went on to thank several of her coworkers for helping her move into her new apartment. Yes, you heard correctly, people actually helped her move, FOR FREE. Image all the work lost to moving companies from this sort of activity.

Perhaps giving away free muffins seems like no big deal to you. After all, the damage that one person can do is limited to the number of muffins that one person can bake. The cost of production puts a cap on the amount of destructive sharing this person can do. But when we enter the realm of software and other forms of intangible 'intellectual property', the cost of production quickly bottoms out. After the first one, the rest are essentially free!

In a free software world, there is no room for Microsoft's 85 to 90 percent profit margin on Windows and Office. The company might be forced to survive on the thin 5 to 9 percent margins that most of the technology industry suffers with. Even worse, it might have to rely on other sources of revenue, like support services.

Imagine the impact to the economy if all that money currently being funneled to Microsoft software was instead left in the hands of our customers. Imagine all the ways in which those companies and home user might squander that money. I realize some of you out there will try and argue that spreading money around is better for the economy than concentrating it in one place, but that argument only holds water if someone besides Microsoft is capable of innovation, and we all know how silly that idea is.

In conclusion, we must all do our part to stop this plague of sharing. Just as surely as mechanized looms threatened the weaving industry of the early 19th century, the cooperative development methods of the so called free and open source software movements threaten our current proprietary software industry. The sharing must be stopped.

Sincerely,
Anonymous@microsoft.com

We're all gonna die

I'm playing chess right now with Epoy.

[The Verve] Bittersweet Symphony

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah

No change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mind
I am here in my mind
But I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mind
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,no,no,no,no,no(fading away)

Well I never pray
But tonight I'm on my knees yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mind
I am here in my mind
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mind
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
I can't change
I can't change it

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
Trying to find some money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah

You know I can't change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mind
I am here in my mind
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mind
No, no, no, no, no

I can't change my mind
no, no, no, no, no,
I can't change
Can't change my body,
no, no, no

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
Been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
That you've ever been down
That you've ever been down

Ramblings of a mad man

A wide ring of light surrounds a full moon tonight, signalling rains to come. This is either explained by science or has been accepted by some people as true by its recurring coincidence, either way... i don't care.

In front of me is a tower with three red dots of light on it. Below it, a small structure with its roof arched with a style that resembles something between Grotesque and Romanesque. Beside it, still another one, smaller, yet to the same affect. All of these are on top of an edifice whose architecture is quite modern.

The road is curving to the left and i am to sought a place to the right. A man appears, with a face so mundane, i can't even remember how he looks like. I thought of it as a possible end, so i walked to the side where a pole would separate us. But he waited, asking me what time it is, i responded, "a las diyes," he asked again and i told him again it was ten. Then he walked away and spared my life.

A few meters from there, i saw that death has taken its toll. It was a body that's still alive, no blood spilled, but its inevitable end will come slowly. Surely, Igme didn't let this one escape his spiral spray of death.

Crossing the road while barely looking at what's to come, i made my way to the other side. Here, it's hard to see the moonlight, with trees and buildings covering it. There are trees leaning to the fences, and from the other side, are plants reaching out its leaves like how a convict would reach out his hands behind prison bars. The grass tries to cover the sidewalk, but fails to grow on concrete. There are manholes covered with lids that don't fit. To my right, cars speeding to get home, or to get somewhere else. To my left, an advertisement by the government showing how see-thru fences show the "beauty" of their buildings. It's ironic that these ads covers the fences almost entirely. A few steps hence, i got to a part full of tree shadows, almost to the point of not seeing anything, but i've been thru this place before, and have almost memorized where the puddles are. I got thru with dry shoes.

Below a shed, i saw three men approaching, all looking at me (or at something behind me). I passed thru them, then i tried to force my self to look back while stopping myself. It was out of paranoia and curiosity that i wanted to look, but my shadow assured me that they're not behind me. So i let each of my feet get in front of the other, alternately, of course.

A memory of a street i've often seen these past months came back to me. A night when Anna and i were looking for some water, and couldn't find a store with change, so we walked more than a quarter of Katipunan and back, still with no water. Giving up, we just drank at the meatshop -- oh, there's water there. Back to her place we just watched a movie and slept. Things like that always seem to pop up in my head. It must be because i'm already feeling my sweat crawling down my shirt and my bag that seemed heavier... it must be that i'm tired.

Seeing bars crowded with people, and a carwash with more than twenty guys staring at a tv set, i got a bit annoyed and hastened my steps. Then, i reached a row of closed banks with its chains hanging on little poles to keep people from parking their cars overnight. Or at least, i think it's for that purpose. I jumped over those chains to turn left and cross the street to Little Ceasar's. Another right would then lead to a street to with a small grocery store.

There were two dogs in the middle of the road, so i stayed on the side. Walking beside a van let me pass unnoticed, or so i thought. A dog barked to my direction, it seems. I looked back and saw the bigger dog was barking at some other guy, or rather on some other guys... they're riding a bike, one pedaling and one standing on the rods sticking out the hind wheel. But i could've sworn i saw another man there carrying a bag. I must've seen myself in the past. And again, another fantasy comes to mind... about traveling thru time. I had to get a grip of myself, tho. I was gonna cross a road.

Still procrastinating while walking (?), i didn't noticed much of anything around me. That is, until i stepped on shit... after that, i can't stop my self from looking down, and watching out for each step.

Left on the corner, there are some people playing basketball, and some watching. A big green gate stood in front of me. I knocked, and then, i'm home.