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Femur

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Oracle DBA living and working in Houston, TX.

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Unfit for work 13 years ago

>Can you imagine living on $20K, $30K, $40K, a year?

Yes, because I have done it every year for the past decade. Having lived in several large metropolitan areas, I don't consider myself poor or even struggling.

>>"The long term storage of significant amounts of antihydrogen should soon settle the question of whether antimatter falls up or down."

Would this mean that if I am "holding onto" a chunk of antimatter heaver than myself I will fall up into space?

>In the current economic climate, it is pretty much a waste "investing" in anything until you have, say, an 8-figure sum in cash laying around doing nothing.

Why do you say that? It is clear that money can be made investing with less than an 8-figure sum. For instance, the Vanguard S&P500 index fund returned 22% last year and 10.66% since its introduction in 1976. The fund minimum is $3,000.

Given the abundance of academic research on the subject of the efficient-market hypothesis, I think it is futile and foolish to try to "beat the market" by trying to pick individual stocks that are mispriced. Therefore, I own low-cost index funds and try to own the market as a whole.

I do try to shelter as much of my portfolio as possible since taxes reduce returns. I have a 401k, 403b, Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, 457(b)... (I've had a lot of jobs).

Dropbox hits 1.0 16 years ago

The new version was not properly linked from the blog post. I had to grab it from the forum.

Fascinating. I imagine you are ludicrously rich via these obvious and well-publicized methods? How long did it take you to learn and implement these tactics? I would also love to see pictures of your yacht and/or Mansion.

That is not necessarily true. The 'last ditch' operation oracle will perform before a full-table scan is an index range-scan (very IO intensive compared with common index use).

There are MANY factors in play. Stats, parameters, histograms... it really depends.

Excellent demonstration of Oracle's inner workings!

The modern Oracle uses a Cost-Based approach wherein the query optimizer will attempt to perform the lowest-cost opration to satisfy the query. If that means performing a full-table scan as opposed to utilizing an index, then this is what will be done. Statistics, data histograms, parameters (such as OPTIMIZER_ INDEX_COST_ADJ) all come into play.

I create adventure. I leave slain dragons in my wake. I build monuments, plant flags, discover wonders, and lead armies.

I sing duets, dance tangos, and play concertos.

I cook banquets. I wheel, make deals, and strike bargains. I purchase fruit in large quantities. I partake and imbibe. I articulate, expound, and drive home the point. I maintain a strong moral fiber and act with integrity.

I forge trails and bushwhack through jungles. When I am not walking, I am running. I sail and drive and fly and ride and crawl.

I write encyclopaedias. I learn, study, forecast, ponder, and calculate. I know the answer.

I consider myself a power-user of this app and make heavy use of nearly all the features. My girlfriend (non-technical) also is able to use Google Voice with ease.

Custom voice mails for specific callers make my day when she sets up a special message just for me.

I think it is interesting that the IRS treats certain workers differently:

"This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work."

(this was cited in the letter)

I'd say for the most part nearly all of the technology Kurzweil predicts ends up being available, it is just the implementation of this technology that muddles the prediction.

In Kurzweil's talks he often expounds on the high predictability of technological progress (price and power of computing, etc). He does not so much cover how humans will use this tech.

Im sure that iPod Nano's (or equivalent) could easily have been embedded or sewn into clothing or hats for years now. Speech-to-text is available now and I use it in Google Voice all the time. It's a matter of choice in this case, not the technology.