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  1. Re:So much for democracy then on Prosecution of Swartz Typical for the "Sick Culture" Pervading the DOJ · · Score: 1

    You both assume democratic selection is an optimal strategy to render an employee whom wields power justly and wisely. Voting is an excellent way to gauge popular opinion.

  2. Re:Evil rulers enabled by ignorant masses? wtf! on Prosecution of Swartz Typical for the "Sick Culture" Pervading the DOJ · · Score: 1

    At least with Liberty, one with enough intelligence to maintain a plot of arable land has the freedom to do so.

  3. Re:So much for democracy then on Prosecution of Swartz Typical for the "Sick Culture" Pervading the DOJ · · Score: 1

    Yeah, how big must the bomb be before it's illegal? And just because we'd have to draw a line doesn't mean we shouldn't draw a line. Incidents occur and one of government's responsibilities is preventing chaos and tragedy.

    Of course there are limits to freedom, but dismissing it is akin to a general dismissing the stockpile of ammunition. "We have strategies to discuss! Let's not worry about the ammo right now.."

  4. Re:US Metric System on Petition For Metric In US Halfway To Requiring Response From the White House · · Score: 1

    Your version of 'best' is obviously best.

  5. Re:Extremely expensive on Solar Panels For Every Home? · · Score: 1

    Didn't you say that quote was without batteries? ..You could let the snow just melt off, couldn't you? And that is $10,000 saved every 8 years after. Doesn't sound too bad to me.

  6. Re:Best solar panels per dollar on Solar Panels For Every Home? · · Score: 1

    Did you read the summary? Panel prices have dropped 80% in 5 years. Math from a couple of years ago is obsolete.

  7. Re:Extremely expensive on Solar Panels For Every Home? · · Score: 1

    How long would it have taken to recoup the $10,000 in saved electricity costs?

  8. Re:"Strong" on New 25-GPU Monster Devours Strong Passwords In Minutes · · Score: 1

    What type of hardware are the 'attempts per second' values derived from?

  9. Re:Weak bus? Also, "cost effective", not "moral" on How Do We Program Moral Machines? · · Score: 1

    Let's supplement our computing resources at these critical moments with total situational awareness. All available data that can be scavenged about the bus and its occupants is instantly aggregated. We already know the list of occupants via a combination of cell tracking and facial recognition from cameras on the bus and on consumer devices on the bus. We know the physical characteristics of these occupants, their health, their wealth, any lawyers in their circle of friends and family.

    We know the structural composition of the bus, we have its history of crash testing data. We know all other vehicles, buildings, public property, pedestrians, and other objects of value in the immediate vicinity; we can determine the probability of damage and costs associated. We can utilize cloud-accessible clusters for instant simulations and calculations.

    With such incredible processing capability and quick reflexes, it may make sense to equip vehicles with special mechanisms, like strategically placed actuators that can instantly send the car into other directions faster than mere rubber on asphalt can provide. Also interesting to note that safety features such as airbags and seatbelts can be actuated prior to impact being sensed.

    Heck, while we're at it, let's allow big-brother overrides. When a terrorist threat is imminent, we can purposefully direct the vehicle to crash into the terrorist and avert disaster. We can also use other vehicles to smash into a vehicle to give it extra 'oomph' and avoid a potential catastrophe. Oh, the possibilities.

  10. Check your stats on Man Arrested At Oakland Airport For Ornate Watch · · Score: 2

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War 625,000 total casualties
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War 110,000 or 150,000 or 600,000+ depending on the source
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan_war ~13,500

    The lowest estimates still place Iraq + Afghanistan casualties at 125,000. Not a "day in the park."
    Upper estimates exceed Civil War casualties. ..Or are we only counting Americans?

  11. Re:So how does the US patent system actually work? on Apple Patents Page Turn Animation · · Score: 1

    If some corporation has a completely bogus patent, you can't afford to challenge it.

    Are these incredibly simple patents actually defended in court, or are they acquired only to make headlines and scare small businesses from attempting to encroach on the turf of these big corporations?

  12. Re:What "supercharged particles"? on X-Ray Laser For Creating Supercharged Particles · · Score: 1

    IANAP, but if what you say is accurate, it seems 'highly charged plasma' would consist of more free electrons per ion on average.. Effectively, more electrons are stripped from the atoms. Which is precisely what it says in the article. I was also confused by the use of the term "supercharged", as it appears to connote highly charged, and not the "supercharge" related to supersymmetry.

    I am surprised the data they gathered here is new. It would seem prudent for scientists to gather data on the absorptance spectrum for all elements, ever since these properties were first discovered. Some kind of frequency-varying emitter & charge detection mechanism to generate the data. Perhaps this is an effect that requires stable, precise frequencies that would be impractical to discover over a wide-range of frequencies for all elements?

  13. Re:Fuck those greedy bastards. on Tesla Motors Sued By Car Dealers · · Score: 1

    I see what you did there.

  14. Re:Impossible to Say on Do Recreational Drugs Help Programmers? · · Score: 1

    Perhaps a regimen must be devised to optimize beneficial effects of marijuana. For instance, if creativity is boosted, but memorization and familiarization are hampered, it would make sense to spend some time studying the elements of the programming problem beforehand, "preloading" the mind with the task at hand. Then smoke up, and see where your boosted creativity takes you. With an explicit list of effects from smoking marijuana, one could devise an appropriate strategy.

  15. Re:Look at who they appoint to the SCOTUS. on Barack Obama Retains US Presidency · · Score: 1

    Littering is wrong and CCTV is an excellent enforcement tool. But the thought of the government prosecuting my children for doing so during their immature years, that's just not right. Now if the CCTV feeds were used to monitor & then provide evidence to the parents to allow them to punish their own children, that would actually be quite useful.

  16. Re:Look at who they appoint to the SCOTUS. on Barack Obama Retains US Presidency · · Score: 1

    So it's reasonable for strangers to fondle our children? Is SCOTUS is full of pedos?

  17. Re:Excellent on Barack Obama Retains US Presidency · · Score: 1

    Good thing our alternative, Obama, is not dishonest.

    Except.. didn't he promise to shut down Guantanamo, end warrantless wiretaps, and restore habeas corpus? Perhaps your +5 Insightful is evidence Obama is a better liar than Romney.

  18. Re:Excellent on Barack Obama Retains US Presidency · · Score: 1

    By that standard, every politician is a phony. The candidate's presentation before any class of the electorate is dictated by what renders the statistically greatest opinions. Most people have IQs floating around the 100 range and apparently by assuming a posture of "I am one of you guys" works best. I don't think you can become President if you're not a phony while campaigning.

  19. Re:Excellent on Barack Obama Retains US Presidency · · Score: 2

    I am curious, do you believe Romney is not capable of helping the middle class and improving the economy solely because has always been rich? I hate to point out the obvious, but such a person would naturally have a rich person's notion of an "ugly car." I'm curious if you believe his personality dictates the decisions he would make, or if it's something perhaps you never thought out..? For instance, he's known for pushing universal healthcare in Massachusetts. Does this position follow your assumptions?

    Odds are, anyone attaining status of Democratic/Republican Presidential candidate is very likely to be rich, or backed by rich people. This doesn't necessarily mean that person is more concerned with appeasing people of the same class. Such an assumption is likely to leave you disappointed in your options for most elections.

  20. Re:Should be interesting... on Actual Final Third Party Debate Tonight · · Score: 1

    Your last sentence seems to be what is under debate. What is so difficult about arresting a suspect and putting them on trial instead of blowing up everything within a 50ft radius of their location? It'd be nice if we could manage this for all US citizens. Imagine if we could do it for all enemy combatants. If the Chinese were hunting Christian militants known to plot against the Chinese government - hunting them on American soil in cooperation with our government - I'd have a much smaller problem with that if it didn't involve hurling missles all over the 50 states.

  21. Re:Brick houses? on Building the Ultimate Safe House · · Score: 1

    I misspoke - meant rockwool, not mineralwool, though it seems some consider the terms interchangeable. Rockwool is unaffected by moisture unlike fiberglass, and it also has higher heat resistance. I wouldn't place fiberglass in that gap due to the potential for moisture intrusion.

    Brick is similar to concrete in its durability and fire-resistance, but reinforced concrete is much stronger than brick. Concrete also doesn't require any maintenance, unlike mortared brick/block. Brick also doesn't require forms or concrete trucks to install.

  22. Re:Find a good architect on Building the Ultimate Safe House · · Score: 1

    Note the full quote was "use GFRP concrete reinforcement if you want it to last centuries"

    That is, use fiberglass reinforcement bars, not steel. Hence, no expanding accumulation of rust to crack apart your concrete.

  23. Re:Find a good architect on Building the Ultimate Safe House · · Score: 1

    Good point. You can pay extra to have a deep well drilled, and you can also look at integrating a rain-water harvesting system with a large storage tank.

  24. Find a good architect on Building the Ultimate Safe House · · Score: 3, Informative

    Reinforced concrete easily beats wood-frame in strength, fire, and flood-induced mold-resistance. Find a specialist to use GFRP concrete reinforcement if you want it to last centuries. Insulate with foam for water resistance, or mineral wool if you can find a contractor for it. Look at composite or metal form deck roofing for concrete strength above your head, too. You probably want a commercial contractor if you're going all out. Find an architect that knows what they're doing. For windows, you'll want them with a minimal length in at least one dimension - short in width or height, to be secure in hurricane conditions. Even then, you'd need a specialty product if you want to resist a 2x4 flying edge-first into the window. And of course, you need high ground, a well, and a generator.

  25. Re:False on Most US Drones Still Beam Video Unencrypted · · Score: 2

    Thinking about it more, key negotiation shouldn't even be necessary.

    You need a pre-determined set of sufficiently-large encryption keys on a removable module of sorts, like a USB key. Produce the key-set USB-key in pairs, for transmitter & receiver. Encryption cycles through the key-set at a predetermined schedule. Timing is managed with an internal clock. Imprecision of timing at change-over intervals is handled by simple dual-decryption attempts, and determination of correct sequence by CRC or some such block header data. This is basic smut. Why am I even bothering..