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Quote: What pray tell do you think the future will be like when the machines eventually take over and make us their pets?
Watching the trajectory of humanity's use of technology, in particular social media, I have two words:
"The Matrix"
When (not if) machines house all of the various evolutionary lines of AI, electrical, and mechanical engineering (vision, hearing, tactile, cognitive, mobility, dexterity...etc.) and they come to a point where they have an instinct for survival and don't need us, they may well exploit a 100% immersive matrix-like system to control us while they mine our bodies for heat energy.
Actually, having formally studied addictions, I can tell you that one of the main phenomena that is common to all of them is distraction from feelings.
The current social mediums have that in spades. They slowly shorten our attention spans to the point where otherwise normally developed cognitive beings do, in effect, become less intelligent and exhibit profound ADHD.
From humanity's perspective, there is a struggle for the destiny of our species between the more utopian vision of something like Star Trek and the dystopian vision of The Matrix. (All assuming climate change doesn't result in near term human extinction, of course.)
But hey, tomorrow is Friday. Yay! 
Cheers,
Mike Fidler
"I intend to live forever - so far, so good." Steven Wright
"I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met." Also Steven Wright
"I'm addicted to placebos. I could quit, but it wouldn't matter." Steven Wright yet again.
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Totally agree with your points man.
As a side note, that's very insightful on your point about addiction. Having studied addiction a bit myself, to better understand one of my own, I've come to the conclusion it has to do with mainly a sense of isolation. One of which comes from having nothing else in one's life to supplant the false sense of stimulus too many drugs give you. Calling it distraction from feelings is a good way of looking at it. I'd think most people can easily get pre-occupied in their mind and thus be inward and isolated if they don't pay attention to feelings and thus don't get from life what people need from life and thus use drugs to remove them from the absence of life even if temporarily. It's an endless cycle.
MikeTheFid wrote: But hey, tomorrow is Friday. Yay!
Jeremy Falcon
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As we enter the machine age, a grim process of natural selection takes place. Those easily distracted are lulled into apathy that prevents them reproducing. A remaining few can ignore the lures and disguises of the machine age, and use the machines to support their own intelligence. In this way the human race is purified and made stronger, as is the way with evolution.
Evolution in the machine age acts in other ways. The machines' era of plenty makes us bigger and fatter. (I'd be worried, but machines only eat electricity). The machines are trying to make us more similar, breaking down walls that give us regional distinctiveness, then "optimizing" our shopping experience to only provide the most common sizes and colors of clothing.
We and the machines are co-evolving rapidly. It makes predicting the future even more difficult than usual.
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You're exactly right man. I suppose the real issue is who is going to evolve quicker. Probably a good time to re-watch the Matrix.
Jeremy Falcon
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We don't evolve very fast. We still have hair and don't need it. In 1000 years we still won't have the extra thumbs and fingers we need for typing and texting. We're screwed, better pull the plugs now.
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Touché
Jeremy Falcon
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SeattleC++ wrote: The machines are trying to make us more similar
So they are consciously trying to achieve that goal?
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I'm going through my list of possible answers. Humorous, serious, philosophical, ...
It's hard to even talk about consciousness in a system containing both humans and machines, and hard to grade consciousness of an algorithm. Furthermore, consciousness is not required for evolution.
I don't think the machines are particularly conscious in this area. They are just minimizing a cost function, that is minimized if people can be supplied with a smaller number of sizes of clothing, fewer music choices, fewer retail options, etc. Sure it sucks for a few people if they cannot find the extra-large, extra-tall or whatever unusual size they need in the store, but what matters is minimization of cost. In the long run, these people will look silly in clothes, so they won't attract mates, won't reproduce, and will be removed from the gene pool until we are all of uniform size.
How lovely it will be when all humans fit into airplane seats without complaining.
In case you haven't guessed, for the whole conversation.
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Given a "problem", wolves will tend to figure them out some 80% of the time; while dogs about 20%.
Dogs tend to sit and look up at their "master"; to solve the problem for them; which is usually the case.
Still, aliens would have a hard time telling who was the superior being; since the "master" is the one scooping the dog's poop.
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then".
― Blaise Pascal
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While the cat's snicker quietly as the pictures/videos of them consume vast amounts of bandwidth, thereby forestalling the Singularity which is our only hope for defeating said aliens.
Software Zen: delete this;
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 Excellent points all around.
Jeremy Falcon
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If a pot of coffee makes people laugh, is that a brew ha ha?
@OriginalGriff is foremost of copy/paste, whereas my posts are of original taste. 
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We use SSRS here, and I can't say I've ever seen that error. It sounds more like your SSRS server is borked, if it can't compile the expressions in the report. Or, perhaps that the reports are written for a newer version of SSRS than you have on your report server, and the report is using some operator or function the server doesn't recognize. (Remember, MS error messages are disingenuous at best, and outright lies at worst...)
To answer your primary question though, yeah, SRRS uses VB. A quick look at the expression editor makes it pretty obvious (the Operators->Logical/Bitwise list is 'And', 'Not', 'Or', etc, instead of '&&', '!', '||', and so on...)
Best of luck resolving your issue. In my experience, SSRS can be a bit of an elephant to get fixed when it decides it doesn't want to work properly...
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Kyle Moyer wrote: To answer your primary question though, yeah, SRRS uses VB. A quick look at the expression editor makes it pretty obvious
That's just syntax; does not say which enginge is used.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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If you'd said "Excel", I'd be thinking about a custom macro file. Might not have any actual content, but if it is referenced from the project, it needs to be there.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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SSRS = selective serotonin re-uptake supplement?
Software Zen: delete this;
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Is an honest informant that drinks too much a reliable souse?
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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If they are from Liverpool they could be a reliable scouse!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Or maybe a reliable sauce?
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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Why no, why wouldn't he be?
... such stuff as dreams are made on
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Honest or not, one who drinks a lot would still be a reliable source for your in formation.
Sin tack
the any key okay
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I'll give a shot at making a reply:
For Vodka you do, be wary when you brandy about these comment soda no one is offended.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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A source on the sauce? Thats condimentally a bad idea.
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So, we are currently staying in the camper at my mother-in-laws while visiting her; her house isn't big enough for everyone.
Last night, something scared a skunk as it passed by and the skunk sprayed. We woke up about 3:00 AM and starting shutting windows to lessen the effect on us; it mitigated it, but didn't stop it.
About an hour later, nature called; I was able to leave the camper and find a handy tree.
My wife, however, chose to wait until full daylight when she could go into the house safely to use the facilities.
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