thelerner

bump.. Doesn't have to be as dramatic as moving to another country or the wilderness. Just downsizing to a small town life. Shifting gears downwards. Seems good, if you have the guts and can afford it.

Sad, but true, humanity is all the worse for it. I don't need people to be saints, It'd be enough if we realized, we're all.. family.

Interesting thing there is, was it 'elders', as in senior teachers. Or was it, 'Elders" as in dead masters in the spirit realm visiting Chang (in a dream and laying down the law in such a way he was visibly shaken as per videos report). The difference is vastly important, imo. In the understanding of the art. ie anything that scares a man of Chang's ability is something I'd want to respectfully stay away from.

Hard workouts.. Cold showers..

well, I'm out then. probably no dunkin donuts either..

idk, seems like alot of walking to see a neighbor. more importantly.. how many Starbucks??

I grew up on golden era science fiction. If it wasn't aliens attacking, it was AI. Yet, despite 5 Terminator movies I'm willing to give AI the benefit of a doubt. Hoping its a tool that'll help us. Though as a tool, its only as good as we are..and that in itself is troubling. <course I'm pro-gmo, so Vive le Monstre>

Too late, for that, for me. My computer already subtly taken over my life, bit by bit. thankfully another alien, my cell phone seems to be fighting it for control.

Thats not a car and ofcourse your vacuum charger is on the same floor as your vacuum. I'd be very impressed if it was on another floor, ie the vacuum had to go up steps. I'd be even more impressed the vacuum could plug in the chargers cord. Not super hard, but pretty difficult. So hard its probably too expensive to design.

Beyond the philosophical stuff, ie who to sacrifice, the everyday stuff is hard. Truck driving is much more then getting from a to b. Warehouses are huge, truck parking is mazelike. Who does the robotruck listen to when they tell it to pull around, 2 lefts, right, back up to 18C? Will it listen to anyones instructions? If so, it'll be jacked. People come and go, are out to lunch and myriad emergencies. Parking a truck is often listening to myriad people giving shifting orders. (Owning a box factory trucking ins and out was controlled chaos) Simple like opening the door is complicated, can anyone signal the AI to open the door, tell it where it where to go? A human has common sense, a robot not so much. For a driver, time is money. A good driver has stories (and light bribes) to tell a clerk to get unloaded faster. Cops know that tickets are death to trucker, 3 or 4 and they're out of a job. But Highway cops are there to make $ by writing tickets. If they know a robo will pull over and give a fast honest answer that they were driving 10 miles over the speed limit, then its a nice, fast conscience free $500 to $1500 for their community. If the robotruck only goes the speed limit, then its significantly slower then human truckers and a bit of a traffic hazard. Whatever I said, there 100s more potential problems to driverless trucks. On the other hand tech is improving. One never knows, but for the foreseeable future, 5 10 years, driverless trucks will have a human for safety, communication, counting and translating humanese into instructions a computer can follow.

I don't think Tesla makes or sells that. I was thinking of things out of the prototype stage.. ie things you can actually buy and use.

by 'independently verified', does that mean not using scientists and medical doctors on themselves, rather seeing how it feels? Or if you have doctors and scientists come to your practices, what do they do? I 'know' (ie read online) 5 people who do Mo Pai. One, who's book you use, Kosta, has quit. Another Ken Brace who I believe you mentioned has stopped practicing. So 2 out of 5, 40% have undergone training, seen the reality.. and quit. Plus while John Chang does Mo Pai, I'm under the impression that the scientists and medical doctors who saw the reality of it first hand, don't do it. Certainly the guy who shot the video doesn't do it. Its not that that's bad, its normal for any meditative art. People start, people quit. But if the argument is Mo Pai's so incredible a taste means lifelong commitment then.. not really. There are traditional practices/lineages where there is an instructor or master who tests before one can advance. They don't use doctors or scientists. Its good that Mo Pai practitioners feel its a superior practice that improves there life but I don't see any scientific rigor that separates them from other arts. Mo Pai definitely has its strong points, ie demand for dedication, ie hours on the mat, importance of grounding etc., but I don't see science as its strong point.

Has your group ever done anything where you needed scientists and medical doctors to be present?

Googled, couldn't find the existence of one. I don't think one exists right now, and 2 or 3 per 100,000 vehicles won't be useful especially if its 30 minutes a charge. An electric prototype might happen in San Francisco in 2020, but that's a maybe. Hell if I'm in car I'd just as soon drive it. As someone pointed out, if a car drives you some place then drives back home, then drives back to pick you up, its more congestion. Worse if there's a 'circle around here' mode til I need you. That also burns more energy and creates more congestion. Whats more important, imo is better batteries. Ones that hold more juice and charges faster.. be recyclable. Even Uber with one person per vehicle is not a great economic model. Better to have an AI City System w/ vans/small buses that anticipate peoples needs and creates efficient car pool uber systems. And that circles back to how good AI can be a tool to make life better. Even the basics like growing food. Your modern farmer is getting increasingly high tech. We're already seeing the advent of high producing urban farms. With vertical gardening, hydroponics and cutting edge design we could see a revolution food production, so we don't need as many trucks coming into cities, whether self driving or not.

See thats just it, games have set rules. How well does the game do when human cheat? Believe me, if we knew a self driving car would always yield, then people will continually cut infront of it, on the highway and at 4 way stops. And the drivers behind it, will get impatient and swing around the very 'polite' AI car. <<also You're saying the self driving truck can refuel itself? I don't think the article agreed with that.>>

Nah, cross country trips like that require fueling stops. It could be engineered, but a bit tricky and expensive. also because " What is fascinating is that they are using artificial neural networks which are not programmed, but rather trained as you would train a dog. This means they are not running a script or a program like we traditionally understand it, but are closer to mimicking actual thought." Because in order to learn it has to make the mistake first. Problematic. Much of that could be solved by learning on simulators but the world has infinite variety and common sense might escape a learning program during strange unfamiliar situations. I watched the Tesla self driving demo, and I noticed at 4 ways there was never any problem. Whereas in the real world, We get subtle clues by car type, head direction and eyes about whether people will obey the traffic laws or not.

Fascinating, course the truck still needed a driver in it. Highway driving is not that tough for AI. City driving, the reroutes, the backing into tight places, the coordination needed for delivery ie, the oft, come back in half an hour. Wonder how well AI does when the unexpected happens. Even the simple, 'You need you to park it over there, for 2 hours'. Could an AI know where the finger points. How well would it understand people giving it voice directions? Good chance it'll always need human back up. Crazy stuff, you hit a squirrel, do you stop? How about a dog? How about deer? Or Cosplayer? There's crazy unlikely stuff that happens, multiple times a year. The human law system can be unforgiving to logical robotics. Still, its in its infancy. Be interesting to see where it goes. Interesting article on HyperLoop technology for packages, not people. That might be fascinating to be able to send goods cheaply between towns. https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a30499206/magway-maglev-hyperloop-shipping/

i for one, welcome our AI invaders, and would like to remind them, that i can be useful, rounding up the other disturbing Biologicals. At the moment AI is fascinating but tends to be very much 'idiot savant'. Anyone have any links to the latest greatest AIs? Particularly examples where its 'crossed over' from one skill set to another. https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/examples-ai-in-industry hmnn perhaps greatest driver for human technological advancement is porn. We invented the phone, so we could call others, asking for sex. We invented cars, so we could drive to them. While the internet is used for many noble endeavors art, science, philosophy, education.. all those pale compared to the space and wattage spent on porn. Thus until AI gets its game on, we have nothing to worry about.

Can't resist a bargain. I'm a slow reader but it's on now on my Kindle and list of To Read.

I hung out at the Sivananda Yoga ashram on Paradise island a couple times https://sivananda.org.in/rules/ I enjoyed my times there but must admit breaking 2 to 3 rules a day. Down from the usual 3 to 5 in regular society. Dress Code Men and women must cover shoulders, midriff and legs. Tight fitting, transparent and revealing clothing are not permitted. This includes: Shorts above the knee Leggings Low cut and sleeveless t-shirts Tank tops Guests’ behaviour and dress code should be respectful of the local culture and enhance the spiritual atmosphere. Observance of the dress code should be maintained at all times including during asana classes or swimming. Prohibited Items Smoking, alcohol, drugs, meat, fish, eggs, garlic and onions are not allowed. The use of mobile phones is only permitted in designated areas outside of class times. Photography, video, audio recording during classes and ceremonies is only possible with the permission of the director. Pets are not allowed. Male-Female Relations To respect the local culture and the monastic tradition, kindly restrain expressions of affection such as hugging or kissing in public. Guests at our Ashrams are advised to observe celibacy (brahmacharya) as part of the spiritual discipline. Male and female dormitories are separate. Men are not allowed in the ladies’ dormitory and vice versa. The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre organisation of India disapprove of and condemn any form of harassment directed at guests, staff or visitors. Attendance Attendance at all Ashram activities is mandatory as part of the Ashram Yoga Vacation programme. As a mark of respect for the teacher and as a practice of self-discipline, guests are required to be on time and to remain for the duration of each programme. Asana classes are open to resident guests only. Free Day Friday is a free day in our Ashrams. Guests are required to attend morning and evening satsang. There are no lecture or coaching classes on the free day. The yoga asana classes and meals run as usual. Silence Guests are requested to observe silence during meals, before morning satsang and after evening satsang. Lights out after 10:30pm. Personal Belongings We do not accept responsibility for guests’ personal belongings. Safe-keeping facilitiesare available. Minimum Stay An initial minimum payment for three nights accommodation at our Ashrams is required upon arrival and registration. This payment is non-refundable and non-transferable in the event of early departure. Payments & Donations Daily donation rates at our Ashrams include classes, food and accommodation. Dates and donations are subject to change without notice. For all programmes guests are subject to the suggested donation in effect at the time of payment. Personal cheques are not accepted. The Indian concessional rate does not apply to: non-resident Indians (NRI), Indian nationals working or living abroad, foreign nationals working or living in India, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Person of Indian Origin (PIO). Indian nationals may be asked to provide evidence of Indian nationality. Harassment Policy Specifically, no harassment, proposals or innuendos with a sexual connotation will be tolerated during any programme or activity organised by the Ashrams and Centres. Guests and students participating in such programmes and activities are accordingly made aware of this policy and invited to apply it in their personal behaviour during their stay. Any guest or student who thinks he/she may be the victim of unsolicited advances or any other form of sexual harassment is asked to notify a senior Swami or director immediately in order for corrective action to be undertaken without delay. Complaints made to a senior Swami or director will be treated confidentially and the alleged violator or any third party will not be advised of the complainant’s identity without the latter’s consent. Here's another set of guidelines they have on another site: Ashram Guidelines The Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch is a yoga retreat with organized, pre-scheduled activities. Attendance at Satsang (meditation sessions) and asana classes (yogic exercises) is required in order to maintain the proper rhythm and atmosphere of the ashram. If you have special needs that affect your participation, please let us know. Guests with specific physical conditions are also encouraged to inform your yoga teacher so that we may help you modify your practice to what works best for your particular situation. • Please respect the meditation room etiquette: Do not lie down or point your feet towards the altar or teachers, and do not place your feet on the chant books. • Karma Yoga (selfless service) is observed from 11:00 a.m. to noon. • SAYR is strictly vegetarian. Meat, fowl, fish, and eggs are not allowed on the grounds. Garlic and onions are also not allowed in the Yogic diet. • No alcohol, drugs, weapons, or tobacco are allowed on the SAYR grounds. • Given our peaceful environment, loud cell phone conversations and loud music are not allowed. Please be aware of your volume levels. • If you arrive after the start of Satsang (during silent meditation), please remain outside and sit in practice until the singing has begun so as not to disturb the other practitioners. Once the singing begins, please quietly and discreetly find a seat inside with everyone. • We observe silence (mauna) between 10:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Lights out at 10:30 p.m. • Candles and incense may not be burned anywhere on the SAYR property, except during public ceremonies. Please help us to look out for fire hazards and inform the staff if a fire or hazard is observed. In case of fire, please meet by the Peace Pole. DO NOT leave the property. • In case of medical emergency, please contact a staff member or receptionist. Health insurance is each guest’s responsibility. • Enjoy nature’s beauty, but please respect <<addon> the first time I was there they were doing laying some new walking paths. The call for Karma Yoga 11 to noon, was greatly expanded. We mixed, churned, moved and laid down the cement for a couple hours a day. It felt good. Similarly the Kitchen required volunteers, hard work but you learned to cook. I think Karma yoga holds great lessons and is remembered fondly. Perhaps moreso then at the actual time .

'One important thing.' \ {;) ^<>^ /| just playing around w/ characters.

I want to get healthier, which means losing 20#'s and gaining some muscle and endurance. I want to be productive. Learn programming, get some programs done, mainly visualizing charts in game forms ie farming and movement of fish. Want to learn Affinity Photo and get some picture work done. Be nice to join some cool clubs this year. Kids to escape the nest, as the kids come back to it.

I'll fill in an answer later, after it percolates a bit. Looking for people to write down 3 Goals for the New Year. One easy, One hard and lastly a goal they'd like to accomplish but it would be very very hard.

Describe your ideal life.. what do you do? where are you? who are you with? how do you spend your time? I'll have to give this some thought.

I couldn't live it long term but l wish there was a tradition of going out, finding that tiny shack and spending a couple weeks there. I think it'd do the world and ourselves a whole lotta good.