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The mention of OG's time machine reminded me of discussion on how a practical time machine is impossible. I think it was in a novel by James P. Hogan Thrice Upon a Time[^]
The gist of the argument goes that if you can send messages or people into the past prior to the creation of the time machine
If you can't change anything then there is no practical use
If you can change things, then eventually things will change so that the time machine is never created. Again, no practical use, except possibly to Weeping Angels and Time Lords.
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Matthew Dennis wrote: If you can't change anything then there is no practical use
Well, it depends whether you can bring information back to the present, doesn't it? If I could go back in time, identify a criminal, come back to current time & arrest him, that would be a practical use, Shirley?
Matthew Dennis wrote: If you can change things, then eventually things will change so that the time machine is never created.
Depends whether you subscribe to the 'infinite universes' school of thought. In this case, although going back in time and stopping the invention of the time machine that got you there should prevent you getting there, in fact all you have done is move to a parallel universe's past, where everything up to the point you appear has been identical to the version you left. The second you arrive, the timelines split.
Practical use? Well, if you don't like the world in which you live, go back (in the parallel universe) and change something. Then live there for the rest of your life. (because returning to your own timeline would leave you where you started) or invent a time machine that crosses boundaries going back, but not going forward (in which case you are likely to meet yourself in the 'no time machine' future).
I recommend reading some of Stanislaw Lem's short stories on the subject.
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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There are times when I hate living in the rainiest town in Sweden.
And whenever there is a clear sky at night the light pollution kills the rest of the fun.
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Yeah, but.....free Volvos? An IKEA in every village? Cushy if you ask me. 
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Where did you learn about Sweden?
I need to move to this parallel universe.
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I learned about it in my Volvo S40 users manual. Oh, wait, no, I was drinking at the pub and had one too many. Then I read my Volvo users manual. In Mandarin. 
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Although, like, WOW! - and I'm never showing my star time lapse again - that explosion takes an awfully long time - I would have thought an explosion of that sort would be over in a flash, and not last minutes...
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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_Maxxx_ wrote: I'm never showing my star time lapse again
I want to see it.
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The explosion was over in a flash. They tend to be! It's not actually captured on the film at all. What you're seeing is the expansion of the debris cloud afterward.
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Software Zen: delete this;
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Bieber wanna be(iber).
Bieber was like that when he started, and then fame got the best of him (and his parents) making do stupid things.
I'm not a 10 year old girl; so this is really not my thing.
I'd rather be phishing!
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Out of it really? What streeted sauquanias cannot braced problematic bugged layer 2 DDOS streteched bleeding forth the remission of .tmp
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That fourteen-year old boy should be at home doing his homework, then staying up all night programming ! I fear for his future.
«If you search in Google for 'no-one ever got fired for buying IBM:' the top-hit is the Wikipedia article on 'Fear, uncertainty and doubt'» What does that tell you about sanity in these times?
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Not able to see them in germany 
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Do you like Biber or Wand Erection?
If not, you didn't miss anything. Just my 2c.
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I was just curious. I don't really like any of them
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I was down voted because I gave a braggart some deserving blowback over his possession of a third monitor.
Here is what I wrote: Link[^]
I received -16 points for that comment.
I consider negative feedback an opportunity to learn. I carefully considered the context of the comment and the subsequent vitriol and I've reached the conclusion that the offended party may have been confused by my comment. My best guess is that the down voter is an aficionado of the Monitor Lizard[^]
Undoubtedly, he has several cages of the little beasts throughout his mother's basement. I can see him now in the dim light of that basement, mental function inhibited by the gases given off by dead insects and decaying lizard dung, furiously searching the internet for posts that decry the virtues of his darling little pets.
To that sad person I offer this clarification: I was referring to computer monitors.
Feel free to post an apology here (or private message).
Get some fresh air first - I wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself further.
-MehGerbil
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I didn't downvote, I upvoted (I am a poser)! No idea why you got 16 downvotes lost 16 points, but wasn't me
modified 27-Nov-14 6:48am.
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MehGerbil did not get 16 downvotes, it got 1 downvote which equate to -16 point. One person made it so insecure it had to post this thread.
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Upvoted you for this. Will go a small way in compensating for someone's downvote.
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