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User: spads

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  1. I'm guessing that a lot of enterprise technologies on In IT, Beware of Fad Versus Functional · · Score: 1

    ... get chosen based on buzzword appeal by non-technical executives. And even if they seek technical advise chances are it will be from those who have been made fully buzzword compliant by past employment, education, and the media.

  2. Re:In case no one saw it.... on MIT Removes Online Physics Lectures and Courses By Walter Lewin · · Score: 1

    That's nice. The commenters are standing up that f- s-, and there are some others there presenting themselves as targets.

  3. The truly sad thing is that ~~in all likelihood~~ on MIT Removes Online Physics Lectures and Courses By Walter Lewin · · Score: 1

    the one who lodged the complaint never stood to appreciate any of the subject matter, never stood to contribute back to the field in any substantive way, though they succeeded in preventing others who might've done those things.

  4. Re:we ARE different on James Watson's Nobel Prize Goes On Auction This Week · · Score: 1

    ^^seriously needs to be modded up, even with only 1 still left to go.

  5. Hopefully you enjoyed doing your PhD on Ask Slashdot: Finding a Job After Completing Computer Science Ph.D? · · Score: 1

    If you are still interested in academics at all, check into some post docs or professorships. Otherwise, try to brush up your C++ and anything else which might look interesting and in demand. More and more I would discourage anyone from expecting any concrete advantages from advance degrees, particularly in computer applications.

  6. This strikes me as spectacularly unhealthy. on Ask Slashdot: What Recliner For a Software Developer? · · Score: 2

    Are you sure you have realistically evaluated this activity as quality with your wife AND children? Just be sure everyone's on board with this!

    Note: this is opposed to the original (snarky) response which occurred to me, which was that probably a recliner would not afford significant relaxtion in comparison to a quart of whiskey! :)

  7. Re:The drugs are terrible on Involuntary Eye Movement May Provide Definitive Diagnosis of ADHD · · Score: 1

    I would try elavil. It turned out to be the key for my insomnia. I had to adjust to very low dose (10 mg, 2 nights/wk) in order not to develop a tolerance, though. Had profound effects at higher dose, which was quite interesting, but just not sustainable, unfortunately. Insomnia is the leading killer I contend with. I think AD(HD) is a reality, but not much to be done but training oneself and as much as possible leading a balanced and productive life. ("balanced" <=> not pushing oneself unhealthily).

  8. I would tend to agree they are magnificent fliers on Researchers Make Fruit Flies Perform Aerobatics Like Spitfire Pilots · · Score: 1

    A number of years ago I once clapped trying to kill a fruit fly, and (unintentionally, of course) cleanly severed its abdomen and one wing. As animals sometimes do in the face of mortal calamities, it tried to regain itself. I watched while it took several steps forward on the kitchen counter and then flew upward a few inches in a perfect, conic cork screw before landing squarely again, and then repeat the exact same steps and attempted flight two more times.

  9. Re:ANY stress "alters the DNA" of a fetus. on Smoking Mothers May Alter the DNA of Their Children · · Score: 1

    Your points are very interesting over-all, but this seems fallacious:

    Another way we are finding this is children of women who are obese and/or hyperglycemic (gestational diabetes or poor diabetes control) are more prone to obesity or type 2 diabetes themselves, independent of post-gestational life. And if their mothers happen to have a gastric bypass and lose significant weight, then have another pregnancy? The children conceived after the weight loss seem to be no more likely to have weight issues or diabetes than children of non-obese women.

    Of course, children born to mothers having gastric bypass should be more prone to obesity (and diabetes), than non-obese mother (irrespective of (pre-) pregnancy behaviors), because their having got the bypass in the first place is indicative of their predisposition to obesity.

  10. Maybe they issued an apology, but if they fired on Comcast Customer Service Rep Just Won't Take No For an Answer · · Score: 1

    this customer service rep, I would eat my hat! :)

  11. "Learn how to learn." Let go any naive delusions on Ask Slashdot: Future-Proof Jobs? · · Score: 1

    ...of permanence. Perhaps such is normally willed to us by well meaning superiors (making themselves feel good in the process), but it is a serious delusion.

    First, one should identify a field which generally appeals. From there, the field needs to be constantly analyzed to see what makes it work (i.e. current "skills"), but always keeping one's eyes to what new skills (or a new field, for that matter) might soon come into play. It's not about her career. It's about what needs doing in the world.

  12. Re:Cheap documentary? ^MOD THIS UP!!!!! on Walter Munk's Astonishing Wave-Tracking Experiment · · Score: 1

    xx

  13. I have automated maintenances in the form of ... on Ask Slashdot: Unattended Maintenance Windows? · · Score: 2

    ...service bounces that are happening all the time. When it occurs and/or if any other issues, I can send myself a mail. My blackberry has filters which allow an alarm to go off which can wake me during the night. That would seem to meet your needs.

  14. My company has one, ... on Employees Staying Away From Internal Corporate Social Networks · · Score: 1

    though it neither seems seriously pushed, nor does it divert from other, more practical modes of communication. It is mainly just there, perhaps as a pleasant, occasional distraction. My company places too high a premium on actual, focused activity to push it.

    If I was tempted to experiment with a SN, it would likely be a somewhat contained one, like a CSN, because I don't believe in just "opening my (actual) self up to the world".

  15. shouldn't that be a "smartch"? on Ask Slashdot: What Would It Take For You To Buy a Smartwatch? · · Score: 1

    xx

  16. Re:Anyone who knows street parking in San Francisc on San Francisco Bans Parking Spot Auctioning App · · Score: 1

    Though some allowances might need to be made for drivers lacking cell phones.

  17. Re:Anyone who knows street parking in San Francisc on San Francisco Bans Parking Spot Auctioning App · · Score: 1

    Ok, then the city should implement it and maintain a queue. Then they just need to install a sensor on all the spots which only allows the correct user to plug the meter (or simply activates a sign marking as "Occupied" if cost free) when the correct cell phone is identified to be proximal to it.

  18. die unproductive profiteering leeches! :) on San Francisco Bans Parking Spot Auctioning App · · Score: 1

    xx

  19. Re:London not good enough for you, was it? on Interviews: Bruce Perens Answers Your Questions · · Score: 1

    Yes, though a lot it, like the behing the scenes with the tech industry monsters, was great, some of his dismissals, like this one, and the gun stuff, seemed a bit canned.

  20. Re:Why are his opinions on guns or... on Interviews: Bruce Perens Answers Your Questions · · Score: 1

    I would say you are mainly right. However important the issue might be, the question probably shouldn't have been included in the first place. Probably just /. wanting to stoke up its follower-base.

    Though the topic was "ask anything", he is not an authority of any kind on that subject, though, on the other hand, perhaps he is about as much of one as anyone, and /. does encompass other issues than tech, such as politics and guns (e.g. 3-D printing of), and, certainly, regulartion and (legal/govt) controls seem to be a mainstay.

  21. Re:Why are his opinions on guns or... on Interviews: Bruce Perens Answers Your Questions · · Score: 1

    Your point is certainly arguable, but I would say that gun ownership and open source are highly related concepts in the abstract. Both fundamentally involve empowerment. I think the only arguable downside to gun ownership (which by no means outweights its advantages) is guns' unfortunate empowerment of wimps and nutcases.

  22. Re:Or maybe, you know... on The Light Might Make You Heavy · · Score: 1

    And a person will eat more just to try to alleviate the detriments of insomnia.

  23. I don't know why /. keeps posting this tripe. on Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds · · Score: 2

    And I am really not in the mood to exhaust myself (to some measureable extent) (once more) (is that the actual intent???) refuting A, B, C, and D,..., in such as this standard, packaged doggerel. Perhaps I will at least read the thing (first line or two) at some point, given some level of boredom.

    All I can say, is learn to think for yourself, see what makes sense to you, do your best to comport yourself in a reasonable way, all things considered.

    Heraclitus: Latent structure is master of obvious structure.

    Neil Young: There's more to the picture, than meets the eye, hey-hey, my-my.

    Andersen: The Emperor has no clothes!

  24. Most importantly, you've got be strong for her, on Ask Slashdot: Communication With Locked-in Syndrome Patient? · · Score: 1

    And that might necessitate your chilling her out a bit. I would say that would be first. Then, you might want to try to see if she feels up to establish some basic communication methods. What someone said about a board with letters that are pointed to sounds good. First think I thought of was blinking for morse code. She needs to be able to tell you anything she might need to. Then some rest and monitoring are probably in order. What someone else said about establishing a baseline for responsiveness (e.g. via digital camera/software) might also be useful.

    Hopefully, you've got good medical support, but always rely on your own judgement first and foremost. Stay chill and hang in!

  25. "if the log roles over we will all be dead" on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Tell a Compelling Story About IT Infrastructure? · · Score: 1

    xx