Serial Escalation/Real Life: Difference between revisions

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** Not so many years ago, when one gigabyte hard drives were on the horizon, PC Magazine did a spoof glossary of computer terms that included the following definition: "Terabyte: A unit of storage so massive it would take the average user two months to fill." At the time, it was a hilarious over-the-top commentary on how people's expectations of what would be "more than enough" capacity tended to get continuously modified as time passes. Now, it's simple truth if you download HD movies or the like.
** Not so many years ago, when one gigabyte hard drives were on the horizon, PC Magazine did a spoof glossary of computer terms that included the following definition: "Terabyte: A unit of storage so massive it would take the average user two months to fill." At the time, it was a hilarious over-the-top commentary on how people's expectations of what would be "more than enough" capacity tended to get continuously modified as time passes. Now, it's simple truth if you download HD movies or the like.
*** Speaking of storage, back when CDROMs were first introduced, most of them were in fact barely filled up (many actually containing the equivalent of just a dozen 5 1/4" floppy disks, just a drop compared to the media's 700 Megabyte capacity). One article from an issue of [[Amiga World]] magazine back in those days commented about the problems of ''what to fill them up with'' during a review of a CDROM drive for the [[Amiga]] 500. Now compare that to today's Blu-Ray technology, with one rewritable variant announced to have a capacity of 200 Gigabytes.
*** Speaking of storage, back when CDROMs were first introduced, most of them were in fact barely filled up (many actually containing the equivalent of just a dozen 5 1/4" floppy disks, just a drop compared to the media's 700 Megabyte capacity). One article from an issue of [[Amiga World]] magazine back in those days commented about the problems of ''what to fill them up with'' during a review of a CDROM drive for the [[Amiga]] 500. Now compare that to today's Blu-Ray technology, with one rewritable variant announced to have a capacity of 200 Gigabytes.
*** This is in fact called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebound_effect_<!-- 28conservation29 Rebound Effect]]. To summarize, when something is increased, we we find ways to use more of it. For example, take a terabyte hard drive, now take it to the 1990s where 3 1/2 inch floppy disks where used. Each floppy disk has 1.4 megabytes each, to everyone in the 1990s, a terabyte hard drive had pretty much unlimited storage. Now take it to the present, 2011 at this time. Blu-ray quality movies, games that are stored on DVDs which where once used only for movies where the large memory was necessary. Not to mention all of the crap we forget to delete and a terabyte hard drive fills up fast. -->
*** This is in fact called the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebound_effect_%28conservation%29 Rebound Effect]. To summarize, when something is increased, we we find ways to use more of it. For example, take a terabyte hard drive, now take it to the 1990s where 3 1/2 inch floppy disks where used. Each floppy disk has 1.4 megabytes each, to everyone in the 1990s, a terabyte hard drive had pretty much unlimited storage. Now take it to the present, 2011 at this time. Blu-ray quality movies, games that are stored on DVDs which where once used only for movies where the large memory was necessary. Not to mention all of the crap we forget to delete and a terabyte hard drive fills up fast.
** On computing power, we've went from $1000 per GFLOP (a measurement of computing power) in 2000, to $1.80 in 2011. In fact, it's possible to build a supercomputer class machine for less than $3000 if you pick the right parts.
** On computing power, we've went from $1000 per GFLOP (a measurement of computing power) in 2000, to $1.80 in 2011. In fact, it's possible to build a supercomputer class machine for less than $3000 if you pick the right parts.
* The classic joke "[[The Aristocrats]]". How much more vulgarity can we jam in before the inevitable punchline?
* The classic joke "[[The Aristocrats]]". How much more vulgarity can we jam in before the inevitable punchline?
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** How long can Roger Gracie go without tapping out (being submitted) in competition? It's already been ''A DECADE'' and at least ''SEVENTY'' confirmed bouts. (He reportedly last tapped in competition back in 2000 when he was a blue belt, the rank above white belt, and his few losses were almost all on points.)
** How long can Roger Gracie go without tapping out (being submitted) in competition? It's already been ''A DECADE'' and at least ''SEVENTY'' confirmed bouts. (He reportedly last tapped in competition back in 2000 when he was a blue belt, the rank above white belt, and his few losses were almost all on points.)
* People figuring out how to play "Flight of the Bumblebee" faster and faster on various instruments, such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8alxBofd_eQ&feature=related piano] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjphgtnWONw&t=1m50s accordion] ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbuIZ-5-8o and more] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFNNPZsO7-Q accordion]).
* People figuring out how to play "Flight of the Bumblebee" faster and faster on various instruments, such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8alxBofd_eQ&feature=related piano] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjphgtnWONw&t=1m50s accordion] ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbuIZ-5-8o and more] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFNNPZsO7-Q accordion]).
* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010<!-- E280%932011_Belgian_government_formation 2010-2011 government formation]] in UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}}. Normally, when a parliamentary democracy votes, no party has a clear majority, and circumstances demand coalition government, it takes no more than 30 days for a coalition to get itself together. If there's a particularly close result or if a particularly unsavory party has won a lot of seats, it might take take three to five months. This government formation has taken about a ''year''. And the news out of Brussels thus far has not been pleasant (former PM and current EuropeanUnion President Herman Van Rompuy has made some rather pessimistic noises about the prospects), making it possible that Belgium will reach 13 June 2011 without a permanent government--a ''whole year''. A term of the Federal Parliament is four years. Yeah. -->
* The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%932011_Belgian_government_formation 2010-2011 government formation] in [[Useful Notes/Belgium|Belgium]]. Normally, when a parliamentary democracy votes, no party has a clear majority, and circumstances demand coalition government, it takes no more than 30 days for a coalition to get itself together. If there's a particularly close result or if a particularly unsavory party has won a lot of seats, it might take take three to five months. This government formation has taken about a ''year''. And the news out of Brussels thus far has not been pleasant (former PM and current [[European Union]] President Herman Van Rompuy has made some rather pessimistic noises about the prospects), making it possible that Belgium will reach 13 June 2011 without a permanent government--a ''whole year''. A term of the Federal Parliament is four years. Yeah.
** To give some perspective, this is (naturally) history's longest-ever government formation. Second place is [[Useful Notes/Iraq|Iraq]] in 2009-10, which took 249 days (about eight and a half months)...but Iraq is a young democracy, with really ''nasty'' sectarian and ethnic politics, and foreign powers meddling in pretty much everything. Oh, and [[The War On Terror|the war]]. Don't forget the war.
** To give some perspective, this is (naturally) history's longest-ever government formation. Second place is [[Useful Notes/Iraq|Iraq]] in 2009-10, which took 249 days (about eight and a half months)...but Iraq is a young democracy, with really ''nasty'' sectarian and ethnic politics, and foreign powers meddling in pretty much everything. Oh, and [[The War On Terror|the war]]. Don't forget the war.
*** Well, as of today, Belgium is still strugglin' to do it !
*** Well, as of today, Belgium is still strugglin' to do it !
*** The way things are looking now, it seems formation will be finished just short of the 500 days mark.
*** The way things are looking now, it seems formation will be finished just short of the 500 days mark.
*** Wrong. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010<!-- E280%932011_Belgian_government_formation It took a whole 541 days.]] -->
*** Wrong. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%932011_Belgian_government_formation It took a whole 541 days.]
* Throughout his career, Evel Kneivel broke 433 bones. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, that's the most broken bones survived by a person in one lifetime. Granted, motorcycling stunts are dangerous, but still...433 bones. That's like breaking every bone in your body twice, and then some!
* Throughout his career, Evel Kneivel broke 433 bones. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, that's the most broken bones survived by a person in one lifetime. Granted, motorcycling stunts are dangerous, but still...433 bones. That's like breaking every bone in your body twice, and then some!
* [[World War II]]. By the time it was finished, a huge number of cities were utterly devastated, [[Schindler's List|a major ethnic group was nearly eliminated]] (at least in Europe), [[Cityof Lifeand Death|atrocities of astonishing cruelty were commonplace]], and entire classes of weapons (nukes, missiles) had gone from science fiction to killing hundreds of thousands. Within a few years of its conclusion, [[Red Scare|communism had gone from a fringe movement to a world force]], and [[The British Empire|the great Europe-dominated empires]] were transforming into the "Third World".
* [[World War II]]. By the time it was finished, a huge number of cities were utterly devastated, [[Schindler's List|a major ethnic group was nearly eliminated]] (at least in Europe), [[Cityof Lifeand Death|atrocities of astonishing cruelty were commonplace]], and entire classes of weapons (nukes, missiles) had gone from science fiction to killing hundreds of thousands. Within a few years of its conclusion, [[Red Scare|communism had gone from a fringe movement to a world force]], and [[The British Empire|the great Europe-dominated empires]] were transforming into the "Third World".
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