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User: PPalmgren

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  1. Re:Not only in politics on When We Don't Like the Solution, We Deny the Problem · · Score: 1

    Its a microcosm of tribalism, and reminds me of small feudal lords protecting their fiefdom in the middle ages. I think it has a lot to do with how authority was used by adults in their lives in childhood. Blame Game and Authoritiarian cultures seem to be at the root of these problems.

    Just goes to show, good leadership is hard to come by.

  2. Re:Senator James Inhofe on When We Don't Like the Solution, We Deny the Problem · · Score: 1

    When predictions are used to come to scientific results from said data used to make a prediction, its a prediction.

    When a prediction is used to push policy without above verification at least giving credence to the model used for said prediction, it becomes a lie.

    I fully understand that climate change is occuring, but find some of the alarmism surrounding it appaling.

  3. Re:Many potential impacts of climate change on The Military's Latest Enemy: Climate Change · · Score: 1

    Well said. I might add that as time has pressed onward, so has the the compression of war. Put simply, we're really good at killing people and really good at killing them quickly. What would have taken months in 1940 took us a week in Iraq. Technology tightens the screws on first strike advantage, to the point where you now don't have time to ramp up production.

  4. Re:The Pentagon is more important than climate cha on The Military's Latest Enemy: Climate Change · · Score: 0

    Is this what you really beleive is going to happen? An immediate evacuation of major cities over a short period of time?

    Its this kind of alarmism that is ruining the good discussions and actions that can be had on climate change. "Stop the press and focus everything on stopping climate change or the apocalypse is going to happen" is garbage and results in nothing getting done. Do you seriously beleive human ingenuity isn't going to be able to account and plan for a small sea level change over the span of decades or centuries to prevent a major city from becoming uninhabitable? We've had cities below sea level for several hundred years, a small and SLOW change in sea level isn't going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

  5. Re:I don't watch discovery any more on Discovery Claims It Will Show a Man Being "Eaten Alive" By an Anaconda · · Score: 1

    I think they've done a good job with some of the recent miniseries they produced. On History, they made the Mankind: The History of all of us, The Men who Built America, one about the Bible that I didn't watch, and a few others.

    For the most part though, its reality tv and profession following TV. They only ones of those that I've found to be really enjoyable and well done in the past were Dirty Jobs and River Monsters.

    The channel that dissapoints me the most is definitely National Geographic. They used to have so many good shows, lots of stuff on engineering and architecture, Taboo, the mind shows (which are still there) and for course the nature shows. Now Nat Geo is just the State Tropper channel.

  6. Really? on New GCHQ Chief Says Social Media Aids Terrorists · · Score: 1

    Copied directly from TFS:

    Mr. Hannigan said that smartphone and other mobile technologies increased the opportunities for terrorist activity to be concealed in the wake of the exposing of secret cables and documents collected by US and UK authorities by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Mr. Hannigan said that smartphone and other mobile technologies increased the opportunities for terrorist activity to be concealed in the wake of the exposing of secret cables and documents collected by US and UK authorities by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

    C'mon man. How can you screw up the summary that badly? There are only 3 damn sentences and we still can't avoid a dupe.

    Slashdot: The only place you can have a dupe in a single summary.

  7. Re:Media and the Copenhagen interpretation on Photon Pair Coupled in Glass Fiber · · Score: 1

    Maybe you can help me out since you seem knowledgeable on this stuff.

    I've always wondered if there's a possibility that quantum mechanics is simply our system for making sense of things we don't have the ability to measure, and that it might not actually reflect the micro-scale actions going on. As an analogy, 200 years ago we didn't know about the atom because of insufficient tools to develop and test the hypothesis. Now we a fairly decent ability to resolve tiny particles but are severly limited in this endeavor when it comes to measuring tiny durations of time.

    I guess, how can we be certain that our electron cloud interpretation is correct and that the position of the electron in that cloud, outside orbitals/valences, isn't important? If we had the ability to measure things at that fine of detail, how would that effect quantum mechanics?

  8. Re:Why the tiny turbines? on Scotland Builds Power Farms of the Future Under the Sea · · Score: 1

    A better area of investigation for sufficient materials engineering would be the underside of our supertankers and container ships. The suckers are single prop, can commonly handle over 100,000hp, and can drive that big ass ship at 20-30 knots. Just put that prop down under, reverse, build a sufficient containment vessel for the shaft termination and generators, and you've got yourself a winner.

  9. Re:Courage on Tim Cook: "I'm Proud To Be Gay" · · Score: 1

    That Chick Fila dude died last month btw.

    Its a shame, the fast food there is good stuff and the service is excellent, but knowing that underneath that face is a overbearing religious stench that permeates the organization from head to toe is quite dissapointing. I've spoken to people who worked there when younger, and they said there was definitely a lot of religious posturing within the stores. The people who were successful tended to be the ones who tooted their own horns about missionary trips and youth camp and whatnot. A lot of the whole 'I'm more holy than you' nonsense.

  10. Induction charging on How Apple Watch Is Really a Regression In Watchmaking · · Score: 1

    I honestly think the only way these things will take off is with the whole charging pad system that has kept popping up in the news lately. Most people take off their watch when they go to bed, but plugging it in along with other devices is inconvenient and obnoxious, esp if you're fumbling around late at night. A pad to put it on would make it feel less inconvenient.

  11. Sensationalist garbage on Labor Department To Destroy H-1B Records · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Every single government form and department has a record retention policy of some kind. This is a labor certification record held by the department of labor. This doesn't tell you anything except that the person had the H1B and was OK to work at their original hire date, its a work verification not a visa data repository. The actual visa application and so-on would be with US CIS or US CBP. I'm honestly surprised they held it for even 5 years, since most forms of this nature have a retention of only 2-4 years.

  12. Re:It makes you uneasy? on Creationism Conference at Michigan State University Stirs Unease · · Score: 1

    I think the point is that Religious text literalism, regardless of religion, is dangerous, and ALWAYS has roots in devout religious beleif. ISIS is the result of literalism of the holy text, just as creationism is the result of literalism of the holy text. Did you know that circa 200 AD, virgins who were raped were considered sinners among the leaders of Christianity? Why? Biblical literalism.

    The severity of the acts committed doesn't change the fact that they have the same roots which remain unquestionable and absolute to those who follow them. The practice of this literalism is the cause, creationism conferences and beheadings are only the symtopms of that cause.

  13. Re:Fine, if on The Airplane of the Future May Not Have Windows · · Score: 1

    My favorite was a night flight, flying up to Toronto. It was very overcast and cloudy out, except for this one strand between the fronts which just so happened to be direct line of sight to a large city, I think Detroit. The city glowed in a golden color from all the lighting, with the surrounding clouds on the sides and top making the light visible in a halo-like effect around the city. It looked like some of the artist depicitions of El Dorado.

  14. Re:Extracts from the Notebook on Century Old Antarctic Expedition Notebook Found Underneath Ice · · Score: 1

    It does, but it also takes the most calories to digest. In that sense, it's the least calorie dense of the three.

  15. Re:This. on US Army May Relax Physical Requirements To Recruit Cyber Warriors · · Score: 1

    I'm gonna have to agree with what the GP posted since this line was quite succint:

    Some of us find it rather impossible to "just zone out".

    This is the problem I have with exercise. I agree that it can be meditative, but for me it rarely is and my brain already has to be mush from something else that day. I simply can't turn my mind off. It can make exercise unbearable, not for the phsyical reasons but for the mental reasons. Its very frustrating. I've tried listening to music, but my preferrerd choice of music typically has a high BPM and if I don't watch out, I tend to sync my breathing to the music and hyperventilate.

    Also, I can feel my mental ability leaving me as I exercise and my blood flow gets diverted. Its a really creepy and unnerving feeling.

  16. Re:Want Critical Thinking? Fix the Public Schools on Employers Worried About Critical Thinking Skills · · Score: 1

    The very core of No Child Left Behind was about tieing funding to passing percentages. The cascade effect of this was to eliminate gifted programs to prioritize passing non-gifted students, with disastrous results.

  17. Re:So much stupid on We Need Distributed Social Networks More Than Ello · · Score: 1

    Mod insightful. Very succinct way of putting it, but right on the mark. I'm not good at that kind of stuff, but I have seen how much effort goes into it by some of my colleagues. In my business, there's only a handful of major contracts available in a year, and it takes YEARS of work and networking to get the right results.

  18. This is incorrect on Tech Firm Fined For Paying Imported Workers $1.21 Per Hour · · Score: 1

    FLSA mandates they pay time-and-a-half for all hours over 40 per work week, unless, being in the tech field, they were exempt by the specific type of work and making at least $27.55/hr. Obviously this isn't the case.

    Its also likely that because of willful infringement, the employer is responsible for paying ALL of the employee's share of employment taxes and income taxes, plus the necessary employer match for the employment taxes. They were also likely fined by the IRS and State Unemployment for the willful infringement on the tax side, which wouldn't show up in the punitive back wages fine listed above.

    In short: The workers got paid overtime, and the total penalty is probably the above mentioned $3500, plus about 40% of what wages were listed. Also, if it ever happens again, they'll likely get some jail time.

  19. Re:How Contagious? on NY Doctor Recently Back From West Africa Tests Positive For Ebola · · Score: 1

    I think population density and mobility is what has people more concerned. Yes, a lot of the places in the Ebola outbreak have poor sanitation and a moderate population density. However, a much lower percantage of those populations travel for a living, and they do not have the dense population centers like we have in the US.

    That and the massive uptick of apocalypse/disease movies. People get so invested in it that the idea of being prepared for a disaster becomes part of their identity. Kinda like that one dude who predicted the second coming a few years ago. They can't revoke their assertions because that would be writing off part of their self.

  20. Re:Can carry 20,000 containers on The Largest Ship In the World Is Being Built In Korea · · Score: 4, Informative

    These ships don't work like that. If anything, it will usually carry less than the max. The rating is based off of a arbitrary weight for each container which is about half the max weight per container. If overloaded or loaded incorrectly, they can list or even split. Here's two pictures of things that can happen:

    http://www.railroad-line.com/f...
    http://shariaunveiled.files.wo...
    http://www.marineinsight.com/w...

  21. Re:Wait a minute on The Largest Ship In the World Is Being Built In Korea · · Score: 1

    That paint is really thick, really heavy, and actually quite expensive. The point is to reduce drag in the water, and more importantly, to prevent buildup of barnacles, which ruin fuel efficiency. The cost isn't worth the benefit on cars.

  22. Re:Largest in service, not largest ever built on The Largest Ship In the World Is Being Built In Korea · · Score: 1

    Look up the Emma Maersk. E class and EEE clas are different designs. The E class is around 15.5k TEUs.

    Whats really mind boggling about these things is the kind of odd issues you run into engineering them. They've gotten so big that you see bowing in the halls during rough seas becaue the halls are so long. It creates odd engineering issues, having to account for a possible resonance with the wave frequency causing a catastrophic failure and severely reduced lifespan due to stresses on the hull if not designed properly. 14% is a really large improvement when you realize they're sitting on the edge of materials capabilities.

  23. Re:Ho-lee-crap on The Largest Ship In the World Is Being Built In Korea · · Score: 2

    Its no longer economical to build these ships in the West, as you said. Maersk, the purchaser of these ships, actually owned a shipyard (Odense) in Europe which it used to build its original E-class ships. Shortly after, that shipyard was put out to pasture. All of the major cargo shipbuilders are located in Asia, like Hyundai Heavy and Daewoo. These things take a lot of labor to manufature.

  24. Re:Or gamblers are masochists. on Brain Patterns Give Clues To Why Some People Just Keep Gambling · · Score: 1

    I buy a ticket about once a year or so just to remind myself how unlucky I am. I've gotten 3 numbers matched in my entire lifetime. I find it helps me appreciate my job and steady income more when I'm getting pessimistic about things.

  25. Re:2 Questions on Michigan About To Ban Tesla Sales · · Score: 1

    Remember, competition in the car sales arena has pushed them to thin margins over the past few decades. The reason for the auto crisis follow-on to the recent recession was because the major manufacturers were using base models as loss leaders and only making money on premium models, addons, parts, and auto loans.

    Dealerships often don't make money on the new car sale, but on the financing terms. The second item in that list is service, which dealers make a good penny on. Electric cars require virtually no service and are thus not beneficial in the long-term existence of the current dealership model. If every car was a tesla, the dealership would just be a glorified sales floor with no additional service revenue.