The problem with the phone companies, the Federal Reserve, and, as I understand it, even the IRS, is they are privately owned and controlled interests. They are not owned by US voters. They are not transparent. Heck, many of the phone companies are not even in US hands!
Additionally, the US has a government (both sides of politics) which pays no regard to international norms or even the interests of their voters (such as health, education, housing), nor its own laws. So how can anyone expect the FBI which answers to a power which itself doesn't take any notice of the constitution or laws, to act within its own laws? Whilst there is no doubt a vast majority of FBI employees who are dedicated and truly patriotic - the institution isn't.
The same problem is found around the globe with privatization being rife.
The fewer assets a democratic government has, the less power it has. If a government does not control the nation's infrastructure, then, when you vote, your vote counts for very little, as everyone in government ends up totally compromised and at the whim of those who control the nation's infrastructure.
To think that we (as a human race) have a very good understanding of long-term climatic processes is just arrogance. We have models which we are always refining, but they will always just be speculation.
Also, I think now that information is more freely available and widespread, and hopefully even more so with things like Wikileaks, we will begin to see just how much scientific research is influenced and manipulated by politics/business interests. It's certainly the case that medical research is heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry (which incidentally funds a great proportion of it), and though everybody claims they take a sceptical view of new findings, everybody is influenced by it. The drug companies know it all too well.
With regards to climate change, there are many vested interests, some very influential and wealthy. It's no accident that in Australia the global warming debate has rekindled the pro-nuclear energy movement, which just happens to be backed by the richest businessmen in the country. Perfectly altruistic motives of course!
We need to urgently plan our first colony to Mars... how shall we do it..
We need to build three spacecraft. (1) for the working class, (2) for the intelligencia, and (3) for middle management, politicians, salespeople, hairdressers and other absolutely essential jobs required for any new colony.
We should first send spacecraft number (3) as it would surely be the largest and most important craft. These people are, after all, our leaders and those whom we admire most.
After the people on craft (3) have worked out how to make the atmosphere there breathable, and have had enough meetings and committees to organize themselves out of existence, they can then contact Earth and send for the other two craft.
In the meantime, all of Earth's problems have been solved and we don't need to go to Mars anymore.
Suppose I recieve a DVD that I honestly believe is legit. And - due to my error, or someone else's error or someone else's falsehood - it is not. Or the baby- or pet- sitter makes a few copies on my machine while we're away.
I hardly think a single pirated copy of something traced back to a single device is going to trigger a lawsuit.
The issue for non-pirates here is anonymity. This technology causes anyone to expose their identity if they publish a video using the equipment. If you are an activist exposing some kind of sensitive stuff about your local tyrant, then you would do well to steer clear of these devices. The piracy industry is cashed up enough to get around this problem in the first place.
Another issue is that this technology is stupid, because these devices will be resold and resold and the owner will be untraceable in no time.
Myself- I want everything to just work. And that means they can really only use a couple standard flavors.
Then that is exactly what Dell should do. Only use a couple of standard flavours (or just one flavour, by appointment), pass on the small license fee to the relevant commercial Linux vendor, and profit. All they need to do is talk to the Linux vendor about what they are about to release - give them the specs - get the vendor to do the testing. The support is usually provided by the Linux vendor anyway, if you buy the license separately.
Very large bodies tend to be slow, lumbering and unattractive and tend not to listen, especially not to Newton - so according to him they don't behave. Except of course when a large body is depicted in a Rubens. On the other hand, very small bodies were 'in' a while back, but I think the fashion industry got in trouble for promoting anorexia, and they didn't behave either, so we really just want healthy bodies.
As for dark bodies, well, they have a reputation of being fast and agile, except for large dark bodies, which are often seen on hip-hop videos in excessively large pants and reverse-worn caps. I once saw a very large dark body at the centre of The Galaxy Cafe, Bar and Bistro, eating a pile of burgers and drinking beer.
Now, all this talk about dark bodies is dark matter, which a lot of people think they know a lot about, but probably don't. Or they would like to, but they can't, because, well, how would you know, huh?
Anyone else care to shine some light on the subject?
Well, I guess he is a 'denier' in the same sense as a holocaust denier. He is questioning an 'established' fact that is firmly held by the majority of his peers. He is quite possibly totally mistaken but, by those who religiously believe in the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it conclusions of global warming, he is arguably threatening the species by spreading untruth and giving governments excuses for inaction, etc, etc, much like 'holocaust deniers' are said to insult the memory of the deceased and rob them of justice and their children of compensation. So in their eyes he should be burnt at the stake like any other heretic.
He is also being treated in a similar fashion, being hounded and threatened. Who knows, maybe some day they will even make a law that means you go to prison, say, 5 years maximum security, for questioning global warming.
Who cares if he's wrong - the point is he has a right to be wrong - and it's a simple matter of debate and showing the facts for what they are, like in any other disagreement in science. The weight of evidence is clearly against him - so who cares!
Religion is a fine thing when it helps you organize and tidy up your personal life, but when people start going at each other's throats like this for things like science, history, literature or anything else - it's just religion gone bad.
Unfortunately, though, he already has pushed the self-destruct button by drawing such an analogy with the holocaust, so it's just a matter of time now...
I think people will see through this transparent debugging process for what it really is... A thinly veiled attempt to strip the code naked, make the kernel look sexy, and get something posted on slashdot!
Doesn't have to be annoying, even at 24 or 30fps (depending on the system), as the message can be a watermark or some other such thing.
Furthermore, it doesn't follow to say they don't work just because they are noticed, since advertisements and suggestions come in many forms, such as the labels on objects used in films, such as cars or watches and foodstuffs in kitchens.
What works is name recognition. You may not be in the market for the name-brand, but when you eventually are (such as for nappies for your kids, or for a new car when the old one's had it, or whatever), all those flash-cards you saw without taking notice have etched themselves into your neural networks, and will spring to mind when the moment is right.
Just how much can be achieved using subliminal messages is debatable and depends on suggestiveness and suggestability of the viewer/listener. Once, however, an emotional connection has been formed with the object being viewed, many other doors to the mind open.
The Meyer Overton Hypothesis specifically relates to volatile (inhaled) anaesthetic agents, and NOT morphine which clearly has a receptor based mechanism of action. It's not correct to use the hypothesis for drugs such as opioids, or barbiturates (eg: thiopentone/pentobarbital), for which a receptor based mechanism of action has been established.
So, no, it doesn't predict the potency of most drugs, just the inhaled ones whose potency is directly proportional to solubility in octanol or olive oil.
The scientists, whose work is in the Biophysical Society's Biophysical Journal, suggested that anesthetics change the melting point of the membrane and make it impossible for their theorized sound pulses to propagate.
This is indeed an attempt to resurrect the Meyer Overton hypothesis, which, in medical teaching, has been relegated largely to the realm of historical interest and no-longer used as a viable explanation for how anaesthetics work.
Recent work involving knock-out mice (mice with a gene for a receptor removed) have shown dramatically reduced efficacy of volatile anaesthetic agents in these mice when they have no GABA receptors (Gaba-amino-butyric-acid). Such findings strongly suggest a receptor interaction for mode of effect. That kind of evidence is quite strong.
The painful thing is, though, that the research these scientists have conducted will inevitably become examinable material for the anaesthetic first-part exams. Argh!! Not another crazy theory to include in a 10 minute written essay on the topic!
Although IANANBUAAMD (I am not a neuroscientist but am a medical doctor), I must also contend that the soundwave theory cannot hold. Although specialized nerves do have vibration sensability, and of course the ear is specialized to picking up sound in a most fascinating way.
Many theories have been put forward to explain the function of the brain and the way drugs work (some of the most creative explanations have been used to try to explain the action of inhaled anaesthetic drugs), but time and time again it's simple, boring old biomolecular interactions with receptors and neurotransmitters, causing demonstrable and measurable ion fluxes, which in turn cause electrical currents which can be measured at the nerve level and at the skin (Electroencephalography).
Although it is true that nerve membrane perturbation, caused by vibration or other mechanical stimulation, can be a trigger for nerve conduction - it is pretty difficult to believe that a nerve impulse can travel as quickly as it does (sometimes as fast as 100 metres/sec), without dissipating, without much cross-talk, and with measurable electrical current, and yet be due to sound waves (kinetic energy). Not only that, but my guess is it would be rather inefficient if it were possible, and just on that basis, Nature would have rejected it for cheap, easy electrochemical conduction.
About the same chances that anyone responsible for the Plame case (apart from Libby) will get charged or convicted for the same crime. It's sad but true that the government and its organizations appear no less self-interested and not-on-the-side-of-the-citizen than the worst multinational corporations.
Instead we would have hijackers who could fly the plane without being in it. How clever!
Incidentally, weren't the planes that flew into the twin towers already equipped with a remote control override? I seem to recall some kind of talk of that one - can anyone confirm?
Slashdot Mirror
Windows Vista Setup does something smart
The problem with the phone companies, the Federal Reserve, and, as I understand it, even the IRS, is they are privately owned and controlled interests. They are not owned by US voters. They are not transparent. Heck, many of the phone companies are not even in US hands!
Additionally, the US has a government (both sides of politics) which pays no regard to international norms or even the interests of their voters (such as health, education, housing), nor its own laws. So how can anyone expect the FBI which answers to a power which itself doesn't take any notice of the constitution or laws, to act within its own laws? Whilst there is no doubt a vast majority of FBI employees who are dedicated and truly patriotic - the institution isn't.
The same problem is found around the globe with privatization being rife.
The fewer assets a democratic government has, the less power it has. If a government does not control the nation's infrastructure, then, when you vote, your vote counts for very little, as everyone in government ends up totally compromised and at the whim of those who control the nation's infrastructure.
How can anyone trust such a system?
I reckon this is part of Sun's attempt at looking friendlier to Linux-o-philes.
Maybe they should change their company name to something more old-fashioned and homely, like Murdoch & Sun - Makers of software and other intangibles.
What I'd like to know is, why does everything have to be a "War on Something" nowadays?
The more they advertise something, the more likely that "something" is the opposite of what's stated. For example:
Let's declare war on war!
Also, I think now that information is more freely available and widespread, and hopefully even more so with things like Wikileaks, we will begin to see just how much scientific research is influenced and manipulated by politics/business interests. It's certainly the case that medical research is heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry (which incidentally funds a great proportion of it), and though everybody claims they take a sceptical view of new findings, everybody is influenced by it. The drug companies know it all too well.
With regards to climate change, there are many vested interests, some very influential and wealthy. It's no accident that in Australia the global warming debate has rekindled the pro-nuclear energy movement, which just happens to be backed by the richest businessmen in the country. Perfectly altruistic motives of course!
Since obviously it's far too late to Delete, Abort, Retry or Ignore.
But seriously, what we need is a widespread, free Tor that obfuscates what we browse from our own ISP. That's who we want real anonymity from!
Jus showce emmuch inteligents I hev.
We need to urgently plan our first colony to Mars... how shall we do it..
I hardly think a single pirated copy of something traced back to a single device is going to trigger a lawsuit.
The issue for non-pirates here is anonymity. This technology causes anyone to expose their identity if they publish a video using the equipment. If you are an activist exposing some kind of sensitive stuff about your local tyrant, then you would do well to steer clear of these devices. The piracy industry is cashed up enough to get around this problem in the first place.
Another issue is that this technology is stupid, because these devices will be resold and resold and the owner will be untraceable in no time.
What about dresses removed with wine
I tried that - and it works!
Myself- I want everything to just work. And that means they can really only use a couple standard flavors.
Then that is exactly what Dell should do. Only use a couple of standard flavours (or just one flavour, by appointment), pass on the small license fee to the relevant commercial Linux vendor, and profit. All they need to do is talk to the Linux vendor about what they are about to release - give them the specs - get the vendor to do the testing. The support is usually provided by the Linux vendor anyway, if you buy the license separately.
Very large bodies tend to be slow, lumbering and unattractive and tend not to listen, especially not to Newton - so according to him they don't behave. Except of course when a large body is depicted in a Rubens. On the other hand, very small bodies were 'in' a while back, but I think the fashion industry got in trouble for promoting anorexia, and they didn't behave either, so we really just want healthy bodies.
As for dark bodies, well, they have a reputation of being fast and agile, except for large dark bodies, which are often seen on hip-hop videos in excessively large pants and reverse-worn caps. I once saw a very large dark body at the centre of The Galaxy Cafe, Bar and Bistro, eating a pile of burgers and drinking beer.
Now, all this talk about dark bodies is dark matter, which a lot of people think they know a lot about, but probably don't. Or they would like to, but they can't, because, well, how would you know, huh?
Anyone else care to shine some light on the subject?
To (inaccurately) quote some lines from "Yes, Minister":
Jim: Why do you need to know?
Secretary: I need to know to know whether I need to know.
Jim: Well, okay, what do you need to know?
Secratary: I need to know E V E R Y T H I N G!
Jim: Oh..
But money can buy Microsoft just about anything else! So who needs love?
Well, I guess he is a 'denier' in the same sense as a holocaust denier. He is questioning an 'established' fact that is firmly held by the majority of his peers. He is quite possibly totally mistaken but, by those who religiously believe in the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it conclusions of global warming, he is arguably threatening the species by spreading untruth and giving governments excuses for inaction, etc, etc, much like 'holocaust deniers' are said to insult the memory of the deceased and rob them of justice and their children of compensation. So in their eyes he should be burnt at the stake like any other heretic.
He is also being treated in a similar fashion, being hounded and threatened. Who knows, maybe some day they will even make a law that means you go to prison, say, 5 years maximum security, for questioning global warming.
Who cares if he's wrong - the point is he has a right to be wrong - and it's a simple matter of debate and showing the facts for what they are, like in any other disagreement in science. The weight of evidence is clearly against him - so who cares!
Religion is a fine thing when it helps you organize and tidy up your personal life, but when people start going at each other's throats like this for things like science, history, literature or anything else - it's just religion gone bad.
Unfortunately, though, he already has pushed the self-destruct button by drawing such an analogy with the holocaust, so it's just a matter of time now...
I think people will see through this transparent debugging process for what it really is... A thinly veiled attempt to strip the code naked, make the kernel look sexy, and get something posted on slashdot!
Doesn't have to be annoying, even at 24 or 30fps (depending on the system), as the message can be a watermark or some other such thing.
Furthermore, it doesn't follow to say they don't work just because they are noticed, since advertisements and suggestions come in many forms, such as the labels on objects used in films, such as cars or watches and foodstuffs in kitchens.
What works is name recognition. You may not be in the market for the name-brand, but when you eventually are (such as for nappies for your kids, or for a new car when the old one's had it, or whatever), all those flash-cards you saw without taking notice have etched themselves into your neural networks, and will spring to mind when the moment is right.
Just how much can be achieved using subliminal messages is debatable and depends on suggestiveness and suggestability of the viewer/listener. Once, however, an emotional connection has been formed with the object being viewed, many other doors to the mind open.
The Meyer Overton Hypothesis specifically relates to volatile (inhaled) anaesthetic agents, and NOT morphine which clearly has a receptor based mechanism of action. It's not correct to use the hypothesis for drugs such as opioids, or barbiturates (eg: thiopentone/pentobarbital), for which a receptor based mechanism of action has been established.
So, no, it doesn't predict the potency of most drugs, just the inhaled ones whose potency is directly proportional to solubility in octanol or olive oil.
The scientists, whose work is in the Biophysical Society's Biophysical Journal, suggested that anesthetics change the melting point of the membrane and make it impossible for their theorized sound pulses to propagate.
This is indeed an attempt to resurrect the Meyer Overton hypothesis, which, in medical teaching, has been relegated largely to the realm of historical interest and no-longer used as a viable explanation for how anaesthetics work.
Recent work involving knock-out mice (mice with a gene for a receptor removed) have shown dramatically reduced efficacy of volatile anaesthetic agents in these mice when they have no GABA receptors (Gaba-amino-butyric-acid). Such findings strongly suggest a receptor interaction for mode of effect. That kind of evidence is quite strong.
The painful thing is, though, that the research these scientists have conducted will inevitably become examinable material for the anaesthetic first-part exams. Argh!! Not another crazy theory to include in a 10 minute written essay on the topic!
Although IANANBUAAMD (I am not a neuroscientist but am a medical doctor), I must also contend that the soundwave theory cannot hold. Although specialized nerves do have vibration sensability, and of course the ear is specialized to picking up sound in a most fascinating way.
Many theories have been put forward to explain the function of the brain and the way drugs work (some of the most creative explanations have been used to try to explain the action of inhaled anaesthetic drugs), but time and time again it's simple, boring old biomolecular interactions with receptors and neurotransmitters, causing demonstrable and measurable ion fluxes, which in turn cause electrical currents which can be measured at the nerve level and at the skin (Electroencephalography).
Although it is true that nerve membrane perturbation, caused by vibration or other mechanical stimulation, can be a trigger for nerve conduction - it is pretty difficult to believe that a nerve impulse can travel as quickly as it does (sometimes as fast as 100 metres/sec), without dissipating, without much cross-talk, and with measurable electrical current, and yet be due to sound waves (kinetic energy). Not only that, but my guess is it would be rather inefficient if it were possible, and just on that basis, Nature would have rejected it for cheap, easy electrochemical conduction.
Two evenings with Sony Computer Entertainment!
About the same chances that anyone responsible for the Plame case (apart from Libby) will get charged or convicted for the same crime. It's sad but true that the government and its organizations appear no less self-interested and not-on-the-side-of-the-citizen than the worst multinational corporations.
Well, you see me boy, they did and they didn't. Or, t'was and 'twasn't, or, to be sure, to be sure, they might've but they mightn't've.
Perhaps the evolutionary advantage of having lice is that it.. hmmm *scratches head*... it helps you think!
Instead we would have hijackers who could fly the plane without being in it. How clever!
Incidentally, weren't the planes that flew into the twin towers already equipped with a remote control override? I seem to recall some kind of talk of that one - can anyone confirm?