[QUOTE=ewmayer;397276]Under his own criterion, Dave clearly believes buying and selling computers is also not an economic activity, because there are export restrictions on those to various countries including Iran, as well.
It seems he has internalized a definition along the lines of "an economic activity is whatever I say it is, which may well contradict what I said yesterday and will almost surely conflict with other similar activities considered by most people to properly be classified as 'economic activities'."
Curious rules, hath this debate.[/QUOTE]

Please. You know I don't think this way.

Ok, an update on vacuum applications.
[QUOTE][B][URL="http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/world-view-balloon-lofts-nasa-experiments-near-space-heights-n320216"]World View Balloon Lofts NASA Experiments to Near-Space Heights[/URL][/B]

For the first time, NASA-funded experiments have been sent up to the near-space frontier on a small-scale version of the balloon that could someday give tourists an astronaut's-eye view of the planet below.

Arizona-based World View sent up the [B]331,000-cubic-foot helium[/B] balloon on Sunday from Pinal Airpark, northwest of Tucson, said Taber MacCallum, the company's co-founder and chief technology officer. Two university experiments were mounted on a platform beneath.[/QUOTE]
I emphasized the helium because there is no mention of recovering it and 75,000 dollars of revenue per person seems like little compensation for a scarce and scientifically important resource:
[QUOTE]Stern said dozens of people already have signed up for World View's Voyager flights, which would carry balloon riders in a pressurized capsule to an altitude of 100,000 feet for $75,000. Although it's not technically outer space, and there's no weightlessness involved, the view of a curving Earth would be similar to what astronauts see.[/QUOTE]

Then these other guys want a glider to fly at 90,000 feet:
[QUOTE][B]Airbus [URL="http://www.perlanproject.org/perlan_missions/#more-71"]Perlan Mission II[/URL][/B]

Applying aerospace technology and atmospheric research to fly a glider higher than any other manned aircraft has ever flown

In 2015/16 Perlan Mission II intends to set new altitude records by flying a purpose-built pressurized high-altitude glider (the Perlan 2) higher than any other manned wing borne aircraft has ever flown in sustained flight using stratospheric mountain waves and the polar vortex and in so doing harvest invaluable data about earth’s atmosphere and its ozone layer


The Perlan 2 will fly in a near vacuum with air density at less than 2% of that at sea level. It must be extremely strong and light like a space ship, but extremely stiff to prevent flutter. Flying at the edge of space, the Perlan II must have the reliability and life support systems of a space ship. The combination of very thin air and extremely low temperatures is similar to the environment that would be encountered flying on Mars. At such low air density the glider must fly at near transonic speeds to create enough lift to sustain flight. At these speeds shock waves can form and flow separation can ruin performance. The Perlan 2 requires a new and highly efficient aerodynamic design.[/QUOTE]

[URL="http://www.cnbc.com/id/102481246"]Billionaire teams up with NASA to mine the moon[/URL]
[QUOTE]Helping to drive this newfound interest in privately funded space exploration is the Google Lunar X Prize. It's a competition organized by the X Prize Foundation and sponsored by Google that will award $30 million to the first company that lands a commercial spacecraft on the moon, travels 500 meters across its surface and sends high-definition images and video back to Earth—all before the end of 2016.

Moon Express is already at the front of the pack. In January it was awarded a $1 million milestone prize from Google for being the only company in the competition so far to test a prototype of its lander. "Winning the X prize would be a great thing," said Jain. "But building a great company is the ultimate goal with us." When it comes to space exploration, he added, "it's clear that the baton has been passed from the government to the private sector."[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=only_human;397474][URL="http://www.cnbc.com/id/102481246"]Billionaire teams up with NASA to mine the moon[/URL][/QUOTE]

Hmm, with GOOG as the major sponsor, are they talking about conventional ore extraction or data-mining of the moon?

[BTW, Duncan Jones' [i]Moon[/i] is a good recent moon-mining-themed film, for fans of that topic.]

[QUOTE=ewmayer;397496]Hmm, with GOOG as the major sponsor, are they talking about conventional ore extraction or data-mining of the moon?[/QUOTE]

Probably the former.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;397496]Hmm, with GOOG as the major sponsor, are they talking about conventional ore extraction or data-mining of the moon?

[BTW, Duncan Jones' [i]Moon[/i] is a good recent moon-mining-themed film, for fans of that topic.][/QUOTE]
GOOG has engaged in some horseplay:
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Google_hoaxes_and_easter_eggs"]List of Google hoaxes and easter eggs[/URL]
[QUOTE]The Calculator recognizes a number of strings as numbers. They can be entered by themselves or used in expressions. They must be entered without quotation marks. When used in an expression, the phrases must be entered in lowercase. In addition to mathematical and scientific constants like pi, e and Avogadro's number the Calculator also accepts:
"the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything"[24] equals 42 as does "the answer to life, the universe, and everything",[25] a reference to Douglas Adams's novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The same reference is made when speaking to an artificial intelligence named Meliza next to "the face on Mars" in Google Earth. When the number 42 is typed, the AI produces the output "42 is the answer to the ultimate question about life, the universe, and everything."
"the loneliest number"[26] equals "1", a reference to the song by Harry Nilsson.
"the number of horns on a unicorn"[27] "1".
"[B]once in a blue moon[/B]"[28] equals "1.16699016 × 10−8 hertz".
"a bakers dozen"[29] equals "13".
"what are 1s and 2s"[30] equals "1 second + 2 seconds = 3 seconds."[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]On July 20, 2005, the 36th anniversary of the first human landing on the moon, Google debuted a version of Google Maps that included a small segment of the surface of the moon. It is based entirely on NASA images and includes only a very limited region. Panning causes the map to tile. The map also gives the locations of all moon landings, and the Google Moon FAQ humorously mentions a connection to the Google Copernicus hoax, which Google claimed to be developing. Supposedly, by 2069, Google Local will support all lunar businesses and addresses. Zooming to the closest level in Google Moon used to show that the moon was made of cheese.[43][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]In Google Earth, if one goes on Google Moon and go on the Apollo 17 tour, they will see Earth. If they get out of ground view and pause the video, then get on the other side of the Earth picture, they will see the moon with a face and a rocket in its eye, which is a reference to the 1902 French movie A Trip to the Moon.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]2004:
Fictitious job opportunities for a research center on the moon. Luna/X (a pun to Linux and the Latin word for moon, as well as a reference to both the Windows XP visual style and Mac OS X) is the name of a new operating system they claimed to have created for working at the research center.
[URL="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2006/03/google-april-fools-day-2004-google.html"]Google Job Opportunities: Google Copernicus Center is hiring[/URL] [90][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]International Space Station on Google Analytics:
Google Analytics fooled users by showing that their website was being viewed from the International Space Station control room on the real-time page, this caused the website owners to swear at them .[243][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]The Mars Feature of Google Earth used to allow users to speak to a primitive ELIZA clone on the planet, by searching for "Meliza", but it later vanished, either taken away or it has disappeared. It is back as of October 28, 2013.[38][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgle"]Virgle[/URL]:
Google announced a joint project with the Virgin Group to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. This operation has been named Project Virgle.[115] The announcement includes videos of Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Group) as well as noy Larry Page and Sergey Brin (the founders of Google) on YouTube, talking about Virgle.[116] An "application" to join the settlement includes questions such as:
I am a world-class expert in:
Physics
First Aid
Engineering
Guitar Hero III
After the user submitted the application, the site notifies the user that the user is not fit for space, or that the user's application is fine and "all you have to do is submit your video" [as a response to their video on YouTube]. As a result, an open source Virgle group has been established, OpenVirgle.[117] On the FAQ page, the final question is "Okay, come on – seriously. Is this Virgle thing for real?" The reply links to a page that tells the user it's an April Fool's joke, and then mentions that the user "Dragged us out of our lovely little fantasy world, to crush all our hopes and dreams."[118]
[URL="http://www.google.com/virgle/application.html"]Virgle Application Page – Virgle: The Adventure of Many Lifetimes[/URL][119][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=only_human;397500]GOOG has engaged in some horseplay...[/QUOTE]

Meanwhile, many try to engage with life....

[QUOTE=ewmayer;397496]Hmm, with GOOG as the major sponsor, are they talking about conventional ore extraction or data-mining of the moon?

[BTW, Duncan Jones' [i]Moon[/i] is a good recent moon-mining-themed film, for fans of that topic.][/QUOTE]
Conventional mining of the moon and astroids:
GoogleSearch: [URL="http://www.google.com/search?q=google+mining+the+moon+and+asteroids"]Google mining the moon and asteroids[/URL]
[QUOTE][noparse]

Helium-3 mining on the lunar surface / Energy / Preparing for ... - ESA
www.esa.int/Our.../Helium-3_mining_on_the_lunar_surface‎
The idea of harvesting a clean and efficient form of energy from the Moon has ... Some teams vying for the Google Lunar X-Prize also see mining as an ultimate ...

Google pair back plan to lasso asteroids and mine them for precious ...
www.theguardian.com/.../mining-asteroids-on-moon-precious-metals‎
Apr 24, 2012 ... An enormously rich corporation plans to start "lassoing" asteroids near the Earth, taking them to the moon to be mined and broken up, and ...

Asteroid mining - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining‎
Transport the asteroid to a safe orbit around the Moon, Earth or to the ISS. .... and explorer James Cameron and investors include Google's chief executive Larry ...

Mining The Moon And Asteroids . - Google News
news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19771104&id...
Mining The Moon And Asteroids . LA JOLLA, Calif. Experts say space mining is feasible by the end of this' A 30-member scientific panel asked by the National ...

PERMANENT space colonization, mining the Moon, NEOs and ...
www.permanent.com/‎
Near Earth Asteroid mining, the Moon, lunar polar volatiles, and space colonization.

Mining the Moon versus mining asteroids near Earth first - Permanent
www.permanent.com/mining-moon-versus-asteroids.html‎

Mining asteroids near Earth versus mining the Moon first. ... Understanding of composition -- The Moon is better understood in terms of mineralogy, due to the ...

Mining the Moon? Space Property Rights Still Unclear, Experts Say
www.space.com/26644-moon-asteroids-resources-space-law.html‎
Jul 25, 2014 ... With activities like the Google Lunar X Prize and private-public ... So goes the moon, so goes the mining and use of choice asteroid real estate?

How Asteroid Mining Could Work (Infographic) | Planetary ...
www.space.com/15391-asteroid-mining-space-planetary-resources-infographic.html‎
Jan 22, 2013 ... The company Planetary Resources plans to mine asteroids for ... Reaching a near-Earth asteroid requires less total energy than landing on the moon. ... Asteroid Mining Venture Backed by Google Execs, James Cameron ...

Analysis: Should Space Miners Target the Moon, or Asteroids?
www.popularmechanics.com/.../should-space-miners-target-the-moon-or-asteroids-analysis-8534419/‎
May 2, 2012 ... The mission, backed by billionaires such as Google's Larry Page, ... It's easy to understand Planetary Resources' goal to mine asteroids for ...

Mining the moon will become a viable venture - E & T Magazine
eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2013/12/deep-space-mine.cfm‎
Dec 16, 2013 ... ... an ambitious few want to mine the Moon and near-Earth asteroids for ... Resources has publicly boasted backing from Google's Larry Page ...[/noparse][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=only_human;397506]Conventional mining of the moon and astroids:
GoogleSearch: [URL="http://www.google.com/search?q=google+mining+the+moon+and+asteroids"]Google mining the moon and asteroids[/URL][/QUOTE]

Interesting.

[QUOTE=chalsall;397507]Interesting.[/QUOTE]
As for data mining, Google is putting together a knowledge base of facts and intends to de-emphasize search results that have too many contradictions.
[url]http://arxiv.org/abs/1502.03519[/url]
[QUOTE]Knowledge-Based Trust: Estimating the Trustworthiness of Web Sources

Xin Luna Dong, Evgeniy Gabrilovich, Kevin Murphy, Van Dang, Wilko Horn, Camillo Lugaresi, Shaohua Sun, Wei Zhang
(Submitted on 12 Feb 2015)

The quality of web sources has been traditionally evaluated using exogenous signals such as the hyperlink structure of the graph. We propose a new approach that relies on endogenous signals, namely, the correctness of factual information provided by the source. A source that has few false facts is considered to be trustworthy. The facts are automatically extracted from each source by information extraction methods commonly used to construct knowledge bases. We propose a way to distinguish errors made in the extraction process from factual errors in the web source per se, by using joint inference in a novel multi-layer probabilistic model. We call the trustworthiness score we computed Knowledge-Based Trust (KBT). On synthetic data, we show that our method can reliably compute the true trustworthiness levels of the sources. We then apply it to a database of 2.8B facts extracted from the web, and thereby estimate the trustworthiness of 119M webpages. Manual evaluation of a subset of the results confirms the effectiveness of the method.
Subjects: Databases (cs.DB); Information Retrieval (cs.IR)
Cite as: arXiv:1502.03519 [cs.DB]
(or arXiv:1502.03519v1 [cs.DB] for this version)
Submission history
From: Xin Luna Dong [view email]
[v1] Thu, 12 Feb 2015 02:45:06 GMT (791kb,D)
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=only_human;397513]As for data mining, Google is putting together a knowledge base of facts and intends to de-emphasize search results that have too many contradictions.
[url]http://arxiv.org/abs/1502.03519[/url][/QUOTE]

Old news.