In rec.arts.sf.science Joseph Nebus rpi-.edu> wrote:

I realize that it doesn't mean the same thing, but as an American, the
idea that an island nation roughly the size of a large parking lot has an
"Inland Revenue" is quite amusing.

On Dec 25, 8:21 pm, Robert Clark yahoo.com> wrote:

But that is perfectly reasonable. When I turn off my computer, I don't
think that the programs I was running on it "go" somewhere else and
continue executing.

It's true that our distant ancestors, who didn't understand things
like vacuum fluctuations and natural selection, made up stories about
a Sky-Father who watches over us and protects the good and punishes
the bad. This probably started as something made up to tell small
children. But, what with the viscissitudes of life in ancient times,
at some point perhaps children had to survive on their own after their
parents died, and they maintained the traditions of their tribe in a
distorted form.

Of course, though, not all manifestations of religion are like the
most noticeable ones, that obviously use the threat of Hell fire to
addle the wits of the ignorant and stupid, in order to manipulate and
control them. But it still seems like it's hardly worth considering
seriously.

On Dec 24, 11:02 pm, Michael Ash mikeash.com> wrote:

On Dec 26, 10:03 am, Michael Ash mikeash.com> wrote:

The name comes from Britain, which, although fairly large compared to
Singapore, still never lets you get too far from its coasts. (The
notion that its extreme south-western tip might be far-away and exotic
was used as a comical notion in a comic opera called "The Pirates of
Penzance" at one time.)

And, of course, it means simply taxes raised on activity within the
country, as distinct from import duties, presumably handled by another
department.

John Savard

On Dec 26, 11:41 am, Quadibloc wrote:

Oh please let's not get into religion.

Two questions:

1. How long has Kurzweil been making these predictions?
2. What was the Countdown to Immortality he gave when he started?

In rec.arts.sf.written Howard Brazee brazee.net> wrote:

Depends on your view of "you."

Depends on how population increase goes - it's far from used up, now, and I
doubt we'll see many more doublings of the human population as it stands.
Further, it may be a non-issue if humanity moves off this planet - which is
inevitable if people are to last more than a couple billion years further.

So what? Humanity has already transcended nature in a lot of other ways.
Procreation is already turning into a luxury in the most-developed parts of
the world.

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.arts.sf.written.]
On 2007-12-26, Wallace Wright wrote:

In rec.arts.sf.written Howard Brazee brazee.net> wrote:

Depends on the people; my grandfather was still interested in seeing more
new stuff into his early 90s, and stopped only because his physical health
didn't hold up into his mid-90s.

In rec.arts.sf.science Quadibloc wrote: